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At different times in my fishkeeping years, it has been both. Of course, anytime you have problems you will be stressed. Thankfully, I haven't had too many of those. My biggest stress came when we were not only trying to breed and sale African cichlids but also keeping up a website, doing...

Some of the SA/CA cichlids don't get as large as an oscar. There are many different ones to choose from. When I get more room to start up another tank, I plan to get a group of about 5 Geophagus Bahia sp. Reds. They get to about half the size of oscars, are colorful, and quite active. I have...

Here is a pic of a baby opossum we found in our house one night! We came home from a friend's house, about 10:30 pm and were watching tv when we saw this on sitting on the stereo speaker beside our entertainment center. We have no clue how it got into the house. I was afraid to sleep for...

From what I have read/heard, Jeff Rapps is supposed to be the only breeder of the true blue dempseys. Breeders are kept to a minimum because it is a recessive gene trait. Most often, any female offspring which may carry the gene are culled as fry to prevent breeding. Males are then sold...

The thing is that a lot of diseases can still be in your tank. In my experience, it's better to "waste" the water and meds on the 55 gallon once a fungus or other disease starts. It's like a child with a cold....use a disinfectant spray in the bathroom but leave their room untouched? No, you...

With this topic in mind, I was thinking about how in areas where our aquarium fish come from, some are considered delicacies. Oscars, plecos, and various catfish and cichlids are eaten in their natural areas. I do think I would find it strange to eat a fish, I look at in my tank everyday...

It's when they show the highest reading. The amount I think will vary depending on how much ammonia there is to start with. Ammonia content will be controlled by what you put in or if you have fish, how much waste they put out. Don't get discouraged. You're one up on a lot of us with a...

It's probably nitrite poisoning. You need to do a 10% water change. You're in the middle of the initial tank cycle and ammonia and nitrites are very bad for your fish. You need to check water parameters daily if not more often and do small 10% water changes to bring them down. How big is...

Can you describe what it looks like in detail? I have never personally seen velvet but I know that ich looks like little specks of salt sticking to the fish. The fish will also flick on objects in the tank a lot like they're scratching an itch. The best treatment I have found is Kordon Rid...

I too fish. I love my fish in my tanks as much as anyone but I enjoy catching fish. Normally I practice catch and release. I do not keep the fish out of water any longer than necessary, and always handle the fish with wet hands to protect the slime coat. I do eat fish and when I am at a pond...

Have you tested your water? Did you cycle the tank? I think that may be your problem. I am surprised you haven't lost a lot more fish. When cycling a new tank with fish, you have to start slow with one or two hardy fish. Also, you have to keep a close eye on your water parameters, namely...

You should do a water change and go ahead and take some media from that established tank. I didn't notice where you mentioned how long the tank didn't have fish in it and whether you kept water in it. If you kept water in it and it wasn't too long, you may have some bacteria in the gravel. I'm...

You can do that for an indefinite period of time. Eventually yes, the sponge will wear out. I keep seeing where people say not to change your filter pads because of throwing your tank into a cycle. In a well-established tank there is sufficient bacteria in the gravel. I don't use sponges...

You still need to stay on top of your water changes! It takes a while to do a cycle with fish but you're definitely making progress!

It is normal for the water to be cloudy when setting up a tank for the first time. This early on, my guess would be its from the gravel. You can rinse, rinse, rinse and there will still be "dust" in it. I think a lot of it is from just rubbing the little pieces together. There is nothing to...

Sure wish I knew how to help you. I guess I must have somehow missed some posts on your tank exchange. I am assuming you went to a larger tank? Did you greatly increase the number of fish you were keeping? The reason I am asking is that I have changed tanks many times using filter media and...

I really like that tank. I also have my tank in front of a window. I keep the blinds closed but some light does get in. The algae hasn't really been a problem for me. At one time, I kept a planted tank with livebearers and it was in front of a window that was never covered. Those were the...

It's not easy keeping young fry alive. You need to pick up some liquid fry food and/or you can try some very, very finely crumbled flakes. Liquid would probably be better. I think it's malachite green that is recommended in the tank but I am not sure. Heat isn't that important if they are in...

We have a Fluval 404 which we bought used. Our tank is well established now and we just use filter floss. We buy the cheap stuff from Walmart's sewing section. It's called poly-fil and its 100% polyester. The same thing they sell in the LFS for a lot more money! The key to changing...

My JD splashes me when I don't turn on the lights and feed him right away in the morning. The tank is right beside the computer. All of the fish come to the top to greet us when we get near the tank. I think they know where their bread is buttered!

Those are beautiful pics, I love the way you caught the spangling on them. They are really nice looking fish!

That's funny! I wouldn't like to be woke up that way! I already have a wet sleeve on my shirt this morning from the fish jumping at me. When I walked into the kitchen at 6 am, the floor was wet from them! They are too funny....my litte spoiled brats!

He is just gorgeous! I have never seen any of them at any lfs I have been to but will be looking for one when I get another tank going.

I like the looks of your tank. I love tropicals but that tank would look awesome with small colorful African cichlids! JMO! I am seriously considering buying a 100 gallon with stand and making it one huge tropical tank! I think it would be awesome and I have a neighbor with one for sale at...

Not sure what kind of filtration you are using but you might want to think of some protection from the sand if its a hob type. Any type of power filter can suck up sand and it messes up the impellers inside. I had that problem when I had sand. I saw where JuanValdez had recommended putting a...

Thank you all for the compliments. I love all of my fish and really miss having all the tanks we had before we moved. This is the only one we have left out of seven! Our fish really are a treat to watch. The computer sits right beside the tank. Yesterday, I didn't turn on the light when I...

I just wanted to make a recommendation on another fish you don't see very often. Geophagus Bahia Reds are awesome fish in a 55 gallon tank. They are South American, from the Bahia River in Brazil. Bahias are eartheaters which means they pick up the sand or small gravel and sift it through...

I have picked up fish that were over 6 hours from me. Not sure if you would qualify that as shipping but they were packed as for shipping and I had to drive them home. I also have shipped 25 or so Christmas Fulus to New Jersey from near Indianapolis, Indiana. We didn't feed them the day prior...

I would definitely clean the tank well before restarting it. That is really strange. When we went on vacation this past spring, we ended up leaving the lights off for 10 days. We were only planning to be gone for 5 but had car problems and got stuck out of state. I haven't kept plants with...

Please don't put the channel cat in a lake. People fish in there and from reading the different chemical bottles they are not for fish you are going to eat. People fish in lakes and take the fish home to eat. They could possibly get sick or worse. You need to keep up on water changes...

Thank you all for your compliments. I don't think, if my JD hadn't been with other fish all of his life, that we would have the success we have had. Environment plays a big part in what we can do in our tanks. Almost any fish raised on its own, probably wouldn't take well to suddenly being in...

Thank you, Angel! The pics I am posting of the fish are all from the same 55 gallon tank. I know a lot of people don't think you can keep all of these fish together with success. The proof is in the pics. With good care of your tanks, your fish will live happy lives. There are exceptions to...

Christmas Fulu

The Whole Tank

Common plecostamus and S. Fryeri

Jack Dempsey