Search results

I'm not sure, and I think it would only last a short while anyway (rapid extinction) without continuous training, since this fish's tendency is naturally toward agression.

Classical conditioning has never really shown great results with punishment to model behavior. The best way to model behavior is positive reinforcement (plus whatever neutral stimulus you intend to associate it with). Having done some of this in real life with real animals, I can say it's...

Did the water changes when ammonia or nitrite got too high, or when the bottom started to look nasty. My cichlids are messy eaters. Personally, I am unconcerned over removing the bacteria I added, mostly because there is a slime coating over almost everything in the water, and I am sure they...

From not doing enough research, I started my tank without any cycling at all. Hold your tongues, because I know better now. I added the bio spira stuff about 8 days after I had fish in the tank (3 young cichlids in a 29 gal); at the time, I had ammonia levels around 3 ppm and zero...

Thanks for the advice. I was already stopping the tubifex based on some things I have seen here. The auratus is gone. It was getting meaner. Since it is gone, the pickier fish has developed a voracious appetite, so I believe it was the aggression that was getting to it. I do notice it sits...

How your fish are surviving is beyond me, but then again I am new to this. Dude, why don't you dechlorinate the water before you add it? Are you making a giant organic chemistry reaction in there? Not to sound harsh, but if you are right, then you have mixed so many things together that have...

Could it be red gravel?

<ahem> Before I started playing with this aquarium, gardened for a bit, so here's a simple run down on getting virtually any plant to grow. This exlcudes algea, plankton type things, and green things that look like plants but aren't. Plants generally need a carbon source (CO2 is only one, but...

Can't tell your english (written at least) from native. Indeed, better english than many native writers.

I trudge around the garden forum too. People here are actually nicer IMO

I had a pet frog I named Jones...had to leave him behind when I moved a couple of years ago, last update I got he was doing well (left him with coworkers in their office with food, instructions, and a blanket)

I have 3 african cichlids -- a rusty, an auratus (evil), and a third one that I don't know what it is. The rusty doesn't seem to like anything I give it to eat -- I have two kinds of cichlid food (sinking pellets) and some tubifex worms. Because of the evil auratus, I am dropping the food...

That sounds way out of control. I am sad to say I bought my first aquarium stuff at Walfart, but I will not shop there anymore, even for groceries. Crap like that, added to aggressive shoppers who will run you over, death of local businesses, illegal workers, etc...... Well, you get the...

so there goes my bright idea. Damn. I was feeling pretty smart there. Kinda reminds me of a Simpson's episode, where Grandpa Simpon's buddy got his beard stuck in a pencil sharpener, and to get it out Grandpa Simpson kept turning the crank..getting it more stuck...kept saying "let me try..."...

I'd think it was interest...ask if everything is ok or if they need any more information, and gently let them know you CARE

I am ashamed to admit I don't know what kind I have. It's a long story -- short version is that I didn't want to get too attached, as I figured they would die early on. THis was before I learned about nitrogen cycling, etc. When I bought them at the pet store, I pretty much had the guy pick...

Glad to hear it. I just found out today that there is a LFS closer to me than I thought -- a family run business, where the guy knows a ton about fish but can't figure out the computer. I feel much safer with a dude like that than a high school kid at Pet Smart. Yay for local business

I dont know if this is the right amount for your pH adjuster or not, but 4 drops per gallon in a 10 gallon tank is 40 drops, not four 4 drops/gallon x 10 gallons If I recall correctly, 40 drops would be 2 mL

I finally found a LFS....bought a bubbler for the tank (among other odds, ends, and necessities. I am sure you understand) that is the long hose type. Put it along the back of the tank. My cichlids -- I swear they are goofing off and playing in the bubbles, swimming up and down the curtain...

I don't know how you stand it -- the waiting :) I did my aquarium all wrong -- ran it empty but for gravel for 3 days, then bought some cichlids for it -- then found this web site. Should have started with the web site, as then I would have at least attempted a fishless cycle. But it's been a...

I am pretty new to this, so take this with a grain of salt. I imagine the overall issue is with your filter. How is it working, and how long has it been since you have cleaned it/replaced charcoal (assuming you have an activated charcoal filter)?

Fish eating filters....kinda like a nightmare if you think about it

I can -- it's chemisty after all. All the pH adjusters I have seen so far are so-called mineral acids/bases -- sodium hydroxide, for example. Sodium bicarbonate. Etc. Each time these are put in a solution, they add to the amount of dissolved solute. That by definition raises its osmotic...

Maybe my next question belongs in the newbie area, but it follows this thread, so please be kind. I currently have cichlids -- which works out well, as my tap water runs 7.8 or higher for pH, and my tank is about there now (last tested yesterday). However, if I want a different fish (for...

Baking soda -- sodium bicarbonate --> Won't that add salinity to the water you don't want? Or is it in such a small amount it doesn't matter? I can't see where the filter would be able to remove salts.

Thanks, will look for one. Do you think the fish would croak missing nearly a week of food, given worst case scenario?

I just started with this aquarium business. I set up my aquarium after reading and doing 1-2 days of researching. Gravel, filter, water with dechlorination, etc. Filters set up and running for 4-5 days before I couldn't stand it and bought some fish. Then I saw this website, and saw fishless...