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Sorry for the delay; that's what I get for using an email account other than work for replies! The gravel is *NOT* the same as the salt water tank. I do have a water test kit, and the pH is very high and the water is hard ... it is well water on the continental divide. I have not had the actual...

Also, I should add that the tank has been set up for about 7 months and the remaining cory has been with me for about 4 or 5 months. The other died about a month or so ago. Other inhabitants are: 4 danios and 5 black phantom tetras. Re: changing sand to gravel; it seems that I can take out...

Thanks, it is a 55-gal acrylic with natural-colored pea gravel, some decor which serves as hiding places (plastic "moss log" and plastic "rock cave") and some artificial plants placed artistically. Filter is 120 gallon wet-dry (got the tank from a saltwater guy, we kept the stand, hood and...

I have one remaining cory, and I realize my community tank is not optimized for her. First off, she needs companions. Secondly, I would like to change over from pea gravel to sand ... has anyone done this in populated tank? Any suggestions on how to do that without choking the water? Thanks!

Hi, I am thinking about planting my 55 gallon tank which has been up and running for 6 months and is lightly populated with fish: 4 danios, 4 black phantom tetras, 1 cory (soon to be more.) Substrate is pea-sized gravel, lighting is a 30-watt flourescent bulb. I don't know if that makes sense...

Thanks, everyone. I have been avoiding frozen food based on it introducing pathogens, but I will lighten up on that. Re: cory. I was supposed to get some companions last weekend but was unable to do so due to weather. I will get some later this week. I have my hospital tank set up ready for the...

Sorry, this is long. I want to improve what and how I'm feeding my fish, so thought I'd post here to pick up input and ideas! Currently, I am feeding flake each morning for the tetras and danios and a sinking Hikari wafer each evening for my lone little cory. A couple of times a month I feed...

LOL!! Sorry, didn't mean to come off as aggressive, just funny. I get the idea that perhaps I am quite a bit older than many members, so perhaps it's just a different method of emphasis? Anyway, I am fairly new to fishkeeping and am asking advice on any and all topics. I was unable to corral...

If I knew who it was, THEY would be the fish getting euthanized! I have 4 danios, 5 black phantom tetras (remaining) and 1 cory. This weekend I will bring in more fish -- buddies for the cory at the very least. But, interestingly, over the months that I have had them, some of the danios and...

I have a fin-nipper. A truly evil fish masquerading as a regular finny critter. It drove my betta into the filter (to his death,) and it ATE quite a bit of my smaller black phantom tetras, whom I had to euthanize. It started with his tail and top fins being eaten off, then the whole back 1/4 of...

Yes, please post pic!

Tank: 55 gallon (4 ft long x 1 ft deep x 2 ft high) Fish: - 5 pearl danios - 6 black phantom tetras - 2 corys I need more fish; I recently lost 2 danios and a male betta in unrelated incidents. I asked the LFS if 2 corys would be OK, and they assured me no problem. I will get more corys when...

I recently lost my beautiful betta to a filter accident. I had suspected he'd been getting nipped since his return from the hospital tank, but I never could catch anyone doing it. Now that he's gone, one of my black phantom tetras has NO TAIL and his dorsal fins have been severely chewed!! He's...

:) RO is reverse osmosis -- it pushes the water through a series of membranes to remove impurities. A lot of bottled water is purified this way. Coincidentally, we have a full-on RO setup (including 2.5 gallon holding tank under the sink) on my kitchen sink. If my fishtank were smaller, this...

********** Also, as I think of it, I am using tap water in the tank and the pH is 7.4. So, if the culprit is sulphur, which is originating from the tap water, why is the tank pH so much higher? I think that may be a component, but my gut says that's not the complete story! Good get, though!

I don't believe that we are anywhere near a toxic level ... do they make a test kit for it? (This tank has been running for more than 5 months, so I believe if it were toxic that more would have died? Am I wrong?) To zero in on the pH, which seems to need more attention, was a pH drop from 8.8...

Substrate is uncoated pea-sized aquarium gravel and has been in tank since inception (5 months?) Tank is 55 gallon acrylic. Decor is artificial plants (with some algae growing on them) and a plastic aquarium decor "rock" cave and a plastic "swamp log." I have a couple of nice quartz stones...

!!! I think I figured it out !!! (Sadly, my little danio did not make it.) I went back and re-checked my water stats after posting. My tank is pH 8.8! (Or higher, that's as high as the color chart goes.) HOLY COW!!! I rechecked several times, and from the tap my water is 7.4. I did a big...

Ammonia = 0 Nitrite = 0 Nitrate = <5 pH = 7.5-8.0 (well water, very high sulphur content -- no change for this tank)

Well, I had been keeping an eye on a danio who just looked skinnier than the rest. I went away Friday and had a friend feed on Saturday. Apparently he was dead (sucked up to the filter intake) by Saturday afternoon (my friend mentioned it.) I arrived home Sunday afternoon to net him out ... then...

I had a betta with fin rot and popeye and what looked like dropsy -- I put him in a hospital tank with melafix and "hand fed" him all sorts of goodies. His eye went back in, his color came back and he LOVED being in a "still tank." (I had no filter, just did big water changes daily.) Well, his...

Well, after 1 week no other fish in the main tank appear healthy. Betta seems happy and is eating like a little pig, so I'll leave him in the 10 gallon for another week. (All water stats are spot on.) His eye appears to have full sight. The cloudiness cleared up ... now his left eye (the one...

Hi, I have a 55 gal community tank in which my betta was happily living. I introduced new fish to increase the stocking level (I had a betta and 3 danios in a 55 gal -- that's a little too ridiculously low!) and Betta came up with popeye, fin rot and what could possibly be dropsy. I rushed out...

Yes, it very well could have been the filter. The intake is very strong and it's covered with window screen mesh. Usually the danios (being minnows) had no trouble with the current in the tank. Unfortunately, they get sucked into the first stage of the wet/dry filter frequently. Then they swim...

Anyone know what would cause a danio to die (float not sink after death) and would have a white lump above and behind his eyes? I found him stuck to the filter intake cover. Upon examination, he had what appeared to be his brain (or enlarged thyroid perhaps?) had burst through the skin. The skin...

Hi, can I add ask about the bent spines? Yesterday I lost my biggest danio (Big Dan) and he DID have a bent spine ... he started hanging out at the top of the tank and over the course of two days it appeared that he developed scoliosis. His last morning he appeared confused and was not...

Thank you for the support during my last week of venting and frustration. My 55 gal tank now has appeared to cycle and my 5 danios and my betta seem happy. The filter flow is still too high for the betta, but he is a surprisingly strong swimmer and swims a pattern taking up quite a bit of the...

Well, my advice is to practice your water changes to figure out the best method. Especially if the hood is heavy and the tank top high up due to the stand. Good luck!

Lovely tank. Mine is, indeed, longer. I think the tank is about 4 feet long and the hood is about a foot tall. I spent $50 on the Aquon water changer (the same thing as the Python, apparently, but in stock at Petsmart.) I think I got ROBBED on the price, but I wanted it right that minute so...

Hey Ktulu, here is something that I am learning the hard way ... Do you have a stand and a decorative hood for your 65 gallon? I am coming out of the gate with a 55 gallon with an oak stand and collossal oak hood. Taking the hood off is a 2-person job (it's not heavy, just bulky.) Doing water...

Thanks guys. I went home at lunch (not a usual thing) and found another danio in the filter intake area. Can't figure out how he got there, as the thing is completely enclosed in screen. So we turned off the filter and had no choice but to net him out (too small to fit any sort of scooping...

Thank you all. I just feel like I'm over my head. I can't seem to get a consistent "open the top" or "turn on the light" due to the fact that the top of the tank has an oak hood which is 4 feet long and 1.5 feet high. It takes two people to lift on or off and that's where the light is attached...

So, in the midst of refilling my 55 gal after a big water change (about 60%,) I saw the dead danio. The living room was sopping, because I am refilling the tank 2 gallons at a time. 33 gallons to refill, 2 gallons at a time. That's 17 trips to the sink. I saw the danio and thought I had killed...

Hi, it was a 10% DAILY water change. I did about 60% yesterday (I am giving up measuring, just eyeballing but taking into account the sump) and got ammonia to .25 ppm, nitrite 0, nitrate between 0-.25 ppm. I checked again this morning and ammonia is creeping up to .5, so I will do another...

Thank you -- no worries on the science; I did a ton of biochem all those years ago when I was in college. It sounds like there is no problem with doing multiple 50% changes in a relatively short period of time ... I am going to do a big change today (50-75%) and then re-check my levels. Thank...

I have been reading some other ammonia threads and now I'm quite worried. Once I get the levels down, how soon will the fish recover?

Tank is 55 gallons; I will do 50% change tonight. Should I put in the ammonia-locking chemicals the LFS sold me? I used that initially, then discontinued as I was doing daily water changes and I read that water changes are better than the ammonia locking chemicals. Edited to add: I have no live...

Atta-Betta comes to the top of the tank when he sees my hand ... I drop in a Betta Bio-Gold ball and he eats it eagerly (by which I infer he's hungry) and then spits it out! Eventually, I clean them out of the filter cover. He also is very interested in the flake food (don't have brand with me...

I have 6 Danios and a Betta and the tank is still cycling. Danios gills are very red. No one appears to be panting and everyone is VERY active. I am doing 10% water change daily. Is that enough? Ammonia is still around 1ppm with daily 10% change. When do I stop doing water changes?

Interesting ... How does the sponge affect water flow? By that, I mean can water really POUR through the sponge? Is there any particular type of sponge needed, like, can I use a regular synthetic sponge? I am intrigued, please tell me more!