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I'd go with 50 watts for a 10 gallon. When heaters malfunction, it's often in the direction of not turning off. Even a 50 watt could fry a fish in a 10 gallon--if the room temperature isn't frigid. A 100 watt could do it quickly.

If you haven't changed the water lately, try a partial change, adding some salt with the new water. Watch his reaction closely with each thing you try. Epsom salt can also be used to treat constipation if you think he might be "jammed up."

Be careful not to overdo filter cleaning. The bacteria in the filter is what remove ammonia and nitrite from the water, so you just need to shake excess sludge out of your media in a bucket of tank water. As for your jaguar eating, have you tried giving him mealworms, earthworms, or some other...

You might try masking below it and putting some thick epoxy in the crack. It might smooth out the sharp edges. Just clean up any overfill with a razor blade as soon as possible--before it hardens.

The tanks that you have listed links to run from about 30 gallons to 60 gallons. I'm not sure how things are in your area, but there is always someone near my area (north of Los Angeles) looking to sell a 55 or 60 gallon for between $50 and $200 depending on condition, accessories, and so on. It...

Botia loaches love snails. If you have a lot of room (I would say a 200+ gallon tank, a group of clown leaches would be awesome. If not, other Botias are hardy and can work, but be aware that some are territorial and need to be kept as individuals.

I'm working on an outdoor 100 gallon tank with a sponge divider (Hamburg-Matten) filter close to one side that has a powerhead pushing water into an above-tank planter that runs the length of the tank and returns water on the other side. I am planning on using soil-less media and including...

Back in the day, I spray painted aluminum foil and crinkled it up for a simulated 3D background--well, it was 3D but behind the tank. I don't see why you couldn't do that without crinkling.

Some sources recommend dipping briefly in vinegar when no rooting hormone is available. I haven't had any problem rooting pathos without rooting hormone, but a vinegar dip might help. Try adding a vinegar dipped cutting to your experiment.

The lower temperature was not extreme for mollies, and that alone should not cause any long-term damage. One thing to consider is that more oxygen is available at lower temperatures, so when you raise the heat up again, it is very important to have pristine water conditions and good aeration...

It is quite normal for fish to be shy after being moved. So they will probably be less shy in the near future. Unfortunately, it is also fairly common for cichlids that have paired up to break their bond after being moved or having a tank rearranged. Their current behavior might just be...

Every type of catfish that I have ever owned has gone crazy for worms--microworms, black worms, earthworms. Just find something of the appropriately size and try it. I have a worm compost bin, so I can find earthworms of various sizes in it. If you have a safe spot in your garden, you could try...

If we don't create suffering and give the fish a good life, reasonable variations are fine. When Louis Doberman crossed the Rottweiler with various terriers to ultimately solidify the Doberman Pinscher, was that a problem? What about dogs that are mainly companion breeds? Animal husbandry is a...

If you put live worms in will she eat them? Thirteen years is a long time, though, so your concerns are probably warranted.

Cake "Stickshifts and Safety Belts

If your fish are eating, try a treated food as well. Last I knew, Ken's Fish sold different types of medicated food. I'm sure that other places have them, too. iAqua Purple is also a good general anti-parasitic that has potassium permanganate in it. Just be careful about dosing with a P.P...

It sounds like you are taking the right approach. 1 tablespoon of rock, kosher, or other non-iodized salt for each five gallons is fairly standard. You could work up to that and make sure that you only replace the appropriate portion for water changes.

I found a local fish store when I lived in northern California that would buy all of my juvenile fancy guppies. This was almost thirty years ago, but I got $1 credit for each fish.

I wouldn't be surprised if that worked out. I haven't bred blue acaras, but they are relatively mellow, so if you have distinct areas for each group, those and then bristlenose might spawn concurrently in that 35. My bristlenose would spawn regardless of what was happening in the rest of the...

For which fish? A 40 gallon breeder is big enough for most of these, but what are you wanting to try?

I know someone who uses a potassium permanganate solution regularly for treating parasites--he gets a lot of wild-caught fish. He swears by it. I know that it is used for ponds, so it makes sense. The dose has to be very low, so a blend like IAqua Purple is probably safest.

You could try keeping the shrimp shells out (since they are an unknown variable) and see how long it takes for the tank to remove 4 ppm ammonia, and then add more ammonia and go another round. I've never used fritzzyme, but a full bottle for a 29 seems like a lot. Check nitrite and nitrate...

Plastic storage tubs (like for shoes, clothing, and so on) and buckets work well as makeshift tanks until you find room. Of course, they are not pretty containers, but storage containers usually have good surface area relative to their size. I have found ten gallon tanks sitting by the curb...

Most of my experience is with cichlids. Convict cichlids will breed even when you don't want them to and are excellent parents that will protect their babies against all threats. I've seen a convict pair keep two large Oscars isolated to one third of a large tank because there were baby convicts...

If you opt to control the snails rather than eliminate them, tie a piece of dental floss to a binder clip, put a leaf of lettuce in the binder clip, and submerge it in your tank before bed. In the morning, it should be covered with snails that you can "reel in" and dispose of. Maybe you know...

What's truly frightening is that I have seen worse information on the internet regarding tropical fish than this. In part, I blame Google translate. My theory is that fish breeders in China--or elsewhere, but not English speakers--are churning out fish profiles that are generic at best, using...

For snail control, it is hard to beat a small botia loach. Unfortunately, I don't think that will work in your tank, and kuhli loaches don't seem to be up to the task. You would need to get a variety that doesn't bother your fish but doesn't require large numbers of its own kind. That is a hard...

Regardless of sex, my bristlenose plecos were out and visible much of the time--and not just those in my grow-out tank. That has not been the case with the juvenile clown plecos that I currently have, but if I knew the sex of those, I would share it.

Siamese algae eater image

I have never kept a betta with black phantom tetras, but I've had bettas in various tanks with schooling fish. As long as the schooling fish aren't nippy--and I expect that yours wouldn't be--it should work out. As a kid, I had a community tank with some nippy tiger barbs and one would pester my...

A coke can would be a good way to catch Kuhli loaches in the wild. They can easily congregate in the "safety" of the can (especially if there is something tasty for them to eat inside), and then the aquarist can pull out a good group in one fell swoop.

I agree with the others who said the white dots are probably just his coloration. If the bristlenose was introduced after your other fish, however, and there is a chance that it has ich, watch carefully. Plecos are usually the last to get ich due to their armor, but they can be more difficult to...

They are better with you in the 15 than they were before in the 5, and they will be better with you than if they go back to Petsmart. If you can get a better tank for them in the future, that would be great, but in the meantime, thank you for giving them more attention and better conditions.

Welcome, Bree. I bred bettas as a youngster. They are beautiful and fascinating.

I would expect that you can find better and cheaper options near you if you check around. A lot of the big breeders are in Florida. Whatever the case, do some searching by web and phone before you spend big money to have fish shopped. I have had good and bad experiences having fish...

Nice setup! I'm guessing that the flounder-looking loaches are hillstream loaches. It would be very cool if those breed in your pond.

And if it's for koi, it wouldn't need to be heated much if at all. White clouds or Medaka would also work in cooler water. I would want it to be something that would be easy to sell when things get crowded. Put one variety of rare pleco in to help control algae and as a way to return some of...

Unless you used filter media from an established tank, your filter hasn't had time to cycle yet. Also, did you use anything to remove chlorine or chloramine from your tank? Stress coat doesn't detoxify those chemicals that are used in drinking water. If your area uses chlorine, the chlorine has...

Male platies tend to constantly pester female platies. That's why it is good to have multiple fish in a tank to allow individuals to get a break. If you have plants or other hiding places, though, it shouldn't be a problem. I have a male molly that tends to bother one female until she turns...