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I've got an African Butterfly who I've had for a little over 2 years. Recently, he has stopped eating. This fish used to eat anything that floated on the surface. Crickets, flakes, meal worms, flies, etc. He hasn't eaten in a month now. Once in a while he will try to eat a meal worm or a...

I saw that thread. It involved clove oil and cuticle scissors. Thus far, the guy's "buck teeth" are fine. No problem eating. I suspect the snails he eats helps. I also saw someone mention a "feeding rock" and thought, hey, that's a good idea so I've been dropping his food onto one of my...

I must have the must un-finicky, most mellow Colomesus in the world. Mine even eats flakes, although his favorite is frozen brine shrimp. Blood worms are his second favorite. He's also got a great temperment. I moved him to my 30 gallon community temporarily when I decided to redo the 15...

I have exactly the same experience. Mine still goes up and down the glass and plays in the current from the filter quite a bit and I've had him for over a year. The only times he seems calm is right after eating and after the tank light goes off. -Curtiss

How long have you had him? Judging from how pale his tail is he has not yet adapted to his new tank. Give him some time. He'll probably stop doing that once he has adjusted, and, his tail will turn a very pretty shade of red. -Curtiss

Maybe I'm just crazy or maybe I have some really passive fish. My 30 gallon currently has a mature RTBS and a mature bristlenose pleco along with a couple of otto's, 8 neons and a South American puffer. None of these fish interact with each other. I did make the mistake of adding a Flying Fox...

Well, if you go with the Tetratec PF500 definitely go with the internal heating module. It does a very good job. However, I do not recommend this filter if you are looking for something quiet. This filter agitates the water quite a bit and the tidal flow system makes quite a bit of noise. On...

I think it all depends on the management of the store. The Petsmart closest to me is great. They have a good selection, the tanks are clean and not overstocked and the staff is somewhat knowledgable. They recently started stocking tire track eels and they use the generic company provided tags...

Red tailed shark is a great choice. But remember, only one. Even in a 50 gallon 2 sharks aren't very compatible. The dominent one will chase the smaller one around anytime it sees it. You'll have to stay away from the various fish that look like sharks too. I put a flying fox in my tank and...

I have 10 in my 30 gallon and the only time they swim together is when they are waiting at the same spot they always do to be fed. Other than that, the 4 smaller ones tend to stay together but the larger ones swim around on their own. -Curtiss

I've got my African Butterfly in with a South American Puffer. The puffer only tried nipping the butterfly a few times. The butterfly is peaceful and you would think from the fact that it really doesn't move around much that it would be slow. The butterfly can get very aggressive if other...

If you think the penguin is loud you definitely need to stay away from the Tetratec line. I have a tank with a Penguin Bio-Mini (which I find to be very quiet) and a Tetratec PF300 which is very loud. -Curtiss

I've always kept Red Tailed Sharks in my tanks. They are also among one of my favorite fish. They can be very aggressive towards their own species. In addition, mine is quite aggressive towards my Flying Fox...probably because it is shaped similiar to a shark. I currently keep mine with a...

Just make sure its 100% silcone and make sure it has had the time to fully cure before adding water. -Curtiss

Try a Penguin Mini. Bio-wheel filter that's about $22 at the major retailers like Petsmart. I live in the Phoenix metrolpolitan area so you should be able to fine it for about the same. I don't actually own one, but have a couple of bio-wheel based filters and they do work well. -Curtiss

Go with the Bristlenose Plec...great fish...hard worker at keeping the algae down. Mine has been in my 30 gallon for almost is a year and is about 4 inches now...not supposed to get much bigger than 5 inches. -Curtiss

You shoud be fine with only a 1 degree difference. I live in the Arizona desert where we are still (even in October) having 105 F days. Its not economical to set my air conditioning to 78 F when I'm not home. So, daytime is 82 F. The heater on my tank is set for 80 F so I have a 2 degree...

I alternate every 2 weeks myself. 2 weeks with carbon, 2 weeks without. My filter and the amount of carbon it holds is fairly large for my tank so I don't think I have a problem with the carbon leeching anything back into the water. I like using the carbon because I do have exceptionally...

Old peeps? Is that English? :P -Curtiss

I'd soak it in tap water that has been treated with a de-chlorinator like bio-safe. Might even go a little heavier than the directions say for the amount of water and then rinse it. That should neutralize any chlorine left from the bleach I believe. -Curtiss

Gouramis would be a great addition to your current fish. If I may suggest another oddball, the African Butterfly is a surface dweller that is quite an interesting looking fish. Not really active until feeding time and very passive towards my other fish (Paradise Fish, Zigzag Eel, Peruvian...

I've found my African Butterfly to be an interesting addition to my community tank. He stays near the surface, doesn't bother my other fish (when well fed) and is quite active at feeding times. I feed mine a combination of meal worms and crickets. For the most part its meal worms that I...

As Ken said, I've had good luck raising my tank temperature to around 84F (never gone as high as 86F myself). Had to do it recently for a new fish I picked up at my lfs that developed ick about a day after I put him in my tank. I really need to pick myself up a quarantine and a hospital...

He should start eating pretty soon, but don't be alarmed if he doesn't. My Zig Zag sometimes goes 3 or 4 days without eating. I put ghost shrimp in my tank as feeders on occasion and they tend to disappear...but he's not the only one that eats them. My Blue Pardise fish has a taste for them...

I like to have Ghost Shrimp in my tank also. But, they end up getting gobbled by almost everything else in the tank. I think the only things that don't eat them are my Red Tail Shark and my Neon Tetras. My Blue Paradise Fish, Angel Fish, African Butterfly (some of those little buggers swim up...

Hi all. Was wondering if anyone else had experienced this. I recently switched from the standard flourecent bulb that came with my setup to a full spetrum 65K bulb. The bulb isn't any brighter, but the colors of my fish seem to have more punch. I've had the new bulb on the aquarium for a few...

In addition to the foods mentioned by CFC my African butterfly fish loves meal worms. Mine is quite mellow and usually sticks to a spot on the surface where the currents are minimal. Once in while he'll swim around a bit, but for the most part is quite the lazy fish. I keep him with a few...

I've kept red claw crabs on and off for the last 10 years. I quickly discovered when I first got one that they are indeed great escape artists. Up the plant, up the heater and out of the tank. I added 2 to my 30 gallon tall tank about 2 weeks ago. They have no problem crawling up a plant and...