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Thanks, guys -- I can't tell you how much I appreciate your input. I'm new to the hobby, and recognize I made some uninformed stocking decisions when I started out. Thanks for teaching me.   Here's where things stand now:   The crayfish had always been peaceful and hid in the plants (sometimes I...

Hi!   I'm hoping that you can help me with some stocking suggestions.   I have a 55 gallon (208 liter) tank. It's been setup for a few months now, and all the current inhabitants seem happy and healthy. Here's what I have right now:   Glofish Tetra (3) Zebra Danio (1) Xray Tetra (2) Red Head...

Thanks for the info, Goggy. That's really helpful. Personally, I don't have room for another tank, so I took them back to the store. After testing my water, they gave me store credit. Now I have to figure out what to get next!

Got em! I picked up a divider and a big net, and caught all five in about 10 minutes (after spending an hour last night and catching zero). And the funny thing is, I spent way more money removing the fish from the tank than I did on the fish themselves. Thanks again, everyone.

Thanks for the tips everyone, I really appreciate it. Do you think it would be worth looking into a divider as well, just to cut down on swimmable area?

A few days ago, I bought 5 giant danios and added them to my community tank. They're doing fine, but they're really bullying the other fish (I didn't expect this at all) and I'm getting concerned. Regardless, I want to get them out of the tank -- but these buggers are fast.   I figure my best...

Ok, so I'm having a hard time believing the water readings in my son's new tank. It was just two days ago that we cleaned out the tank and re-filled it. These are my water test results, as of this morning:   Ammonia: .25 ppm (my understanding is that this could be a false positive on account of...

Thanks for the advice, Byron.   I know that the levels in my tap water are higher than normal. What I'd done in the past with the 55g was prepare the new water the night before the water change and just let it sit.   I'd fill a pair of 5 gallon buckets with hose water, add API water conditioner...

Sorry about your fish, attibones -- that's an awful story. 

A few hours later, and I've got things setup.   We drained all the water (siphoned it out a second story window, which was kind of fun) and removed all ornaments and substrate. The water was a funky color. I couldn't see it when it was in the aquarium, but when I drained a little into a bucket...

Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. I'll do as you suggest. Looks like I have a nice Saturday afternoon project ahead of me...

Well guys, I think I've figured it out.   We gave my son the aquarium last Friday. We didn't add substrate or water or anything until Saturday afternoon.   This is what I just pieced together:   Last Saturday morning, my son told me excitedly that he'd cleaned the tank. I didn't think anything...

The water in the large tank is fine (I just did the weekly test last night).    I haven't added any water from the large tank to the small one. The water in the small one was straight from the hose.   I'll take a look at the Dr. Tim's product. Thanks for the recommendation!

I was also wondering: I have to do a water change on the 55g this weekend. Would it be worthwhile adding the water I remove to the new tank? Or a waste of time?

I've been wondering about the ammonia too.   I'm using the API liquid test kit. 1-4 is ppm.   There aren't any fish in the aquarium at all (and there haven't been), but the ammonia readings have been there since I added water to the tank (or at least, within a few hours of adding water). Prime...

I have an established 55 gallon tank.   Last weekend, we gave my son a 37 gallon tank for his birthday (to keep in his bedroom). Like most 8 year old kids, he's a little impatient and is really excited to put some fish in it.   I gave him one of the filter pads from my aquarium to help get him...

Thanks for the advice, I'll work on finishing the schools. What temp would be good for the danio?   The pleco is a rubber lip.

I've read a lot of articles & forum posts about stocking, but the more I read the more questions I have (the more you know the less you know, sometimes....)   I have a 60 gallon tank, and this is my first. All of the fish seem active and in good health, from what I can tell. This is what I have...

Are you dechlorinating the water before you add it to the tank?

  Thank you for the encouragement.   I've been a catch and release angler my whole life, and have really developed a sincere respect for fish -- I hate to think of them suffering on account of me. So I'm glad I've seem to have done the did the right things, despite my initial ignorance. 

  Thanks!   So far, I've followed the little booklet that came with the test kit to the letter.   Right now, ammonia is very close to 0 (not exactly 0, but much closer to 0 than .25). Nitrite is a straight up 0, and nitrate is about a straight up 5ppm. That's the first time I've had a nitrate...

Well, I went to the fish store on Monday. The owner *gave* me two very established filter pads, a piece of established driftwood, and an established artificial plant. They've been in the aquarium for about 52 hours. I just did a water test, and it came up with an ammonia reading of close to 0...

  This is extremely helpful, thank you. I didn't realize these things, but it makes a lot of sense.   I was changing the water daily based on my ammonia readings because that's what I read to do in various articles online.   My water temp is a steady 77 degrees F.   My pH is 7.2.   My ammonia...

Thanks, guys.   I've continued with daily water changes for now (15% when the ammonia reads .25, and 25% when it reads .5). So far, the fish still seem very energetic and full of good color.   I called a local fish shop this weekend, and they agreed to straight up trade me a set of their...

I'm sorry to add another post about cycling, but I could use some affirmation that I'm doing the right thing -- or criticism if I'm not.   On Saturday, I bought a 60 gallon aquarium from a big box pet store.   This wasn't an impulse buy, at least on the surface. I'd done some basic research...