Petfish.net Message Board Archive No. 1

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Slow Growing Bettas
Curing Driftwood
Fry Sex Ratio
Bala Shark Size
Silver Shark
Marine Tank Set-up
Velvet Disease
Spawning Bettas
Marine Lighting
High Temperatures
Tank Dividers
Spawning Mollies
Swimming Problem
Rearanging Tank

Danny wrote:
Hello Everyone,
My betta babies are just about 7 weeks old and they are still SO TINY...I am just wondering what they should look like as of now. None of them have any color. What should I expect over the next month or so?
Also, I have been feeding them BBS and I've just started them up with ground up freeze dried bloodworms as well...
Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.
Danny

Clint wrote:
Hi Danny,
I had the same problem a few years ago with a batch of pure white bettas. I never did figure out what caused such slow growth. But there is definitely something wrong somewhere. The one thing that comes to mind is that baby brine shrimp lose a lot of nutritional value if they are allowed to get over about 24 hours old.
Try adding some frozen food too.
There's really no permanent harm done and if you can get them to start growing they should still get to the normal full size.
Good Luck,
Clint

Danny wrote:
Clint...
I had no idea about the BBS. So I shouldn't feed them BBS that are over 24 hours old? I have about 30 fry guys left. How many BBS should I feed them? Also, with live food, should I defrost it or should I just ground it up frozen? Any other suggestions?

Clint wrote:
I always fed them as heavily as possible, really overfeed them but come back the same day and siphon out all the dead shrimp.
The frozen food can be added as is, it will melt and the fry can bite off what they want.
That should get them started growing.
Clint

Danny wrote:
I just wanted to thank you for your advice. For a few days now I have been feeding the fry cubes of frozen food and they have literally trippled in size. It has made a great difference.
I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate this site and the wonderful advice you give.
Thank you.

Ne Var wrote:
A note on slow growing betta's we've found it's often due to not enough food. We feed alot i mean a ton of food to them daily and they grow like weeds. Before when we only fed what seemed enough they grew slowly. This is also why they tripple within days of being jarred all the food is for them. Also once bigger fry start moving out the smaller ones do catch up finally

Curing Driftwood

I have a fresh water tropical tank. What is the safest, best way to get the salt out of drift wood that I find on the ocean beaches so that I can put it into my tank.
thanks
johnb

There's really no quick way, just have to soak it and change the (soaking)water a lot. It will take about 2 weeks or more to get uncured driftwood in a condition safe to add to an aquarium.
Then you always need to test it first.
Clint

Fry Sex Ratio

Stuart wrote:
my 9 guppy fry are all 10 weeks old now,
i worked out that there all female and they have now all coloured a full yellow/cream colour
body with a yellow tail like there mother,
is it usual to get all the fry of the one sex.

Clint wrote:
Hi Stuart,
That happens sometimes. It's usually attributed to a high or low pH, high or low temperatures etc.
For example the Guppy originates from a natural habitat that is at a pH of just a bit higher than neutral and a temperature around 74F. If your fish were kept at a pH or temperature that was significantly different than that it might trigger a larger proportion of one sex. It happens in reptiles and amphibians too.
Good Luck,
Clint

Bala Shark Size

Bill wrote:
Hey Clint, on the petfish website you said balas get to about 10" but much smaller in the aquarium, so how much is much smaller? and how come everybody else says bala's get to at least 13" this has been driving me crazy and I just had to find out the answer. Thank You

Clint wrote:
They might get to 13 inches in ideal conditions, but the normal adult size is 10 inches. Since this is a big fish as far as home aquariums go they wouldn't get to normal adult size, they kind of adapt to their small tanks.
To sum it all up if you have a Bala that is over 10 inches you have really accomplished something. But if you are worried about the fish getting to big for your tank, you don't have to worry too much.
PS the biggest Bala Shark I've ever seen was at the Shedd Aquarium (Chicago) was huge but it wasn't over 10 inches.

ne Var wrote:
here's someplace i and my manager now (a biologist) disagree. No animal actually only grow's to it's environment. They grow to a size that they're uncomfortable in. However the difference between 10 inches and 13 aint a heck of a lot. If they reach 10 their already to big for almost all fish keepers. Personally i don't seel many sharks at work, mostly because i stress how big they can get. Same with Oscar's, Pleco's, and other large growing fish (especially clown knifes my gawd 40 inches that's NNUTS!!!!!!)

Kitty Fish wrote:
hmm, im not clint... but a fish (of any kind's) size all depends upon environment. i don't doubt at all a bala could reach 13 inches, in a large enough aquarium. and i don't think it would be unusual for a bala to get bigger... in the proper tank conditions... just my thoughts...

Silver Shark

Stuart wrote:
my 2 silver sharks are doing fine.
its just the last couple of days one has been chasing the other around i think he is trying to mate with her it sure seems like it.
but i don't no nothing much about these fish has anyone got any info, i was looking on this site at the bala shark and it looks like my silver sharks

Clint wrote:
Hi Stuart,
If your fish is the same as a bala, it will have the black tipped fins, and the white area just before that. It's also called Tri-color for black white and silver.
If in fact you do have Bala's I don't think they spawn in captivity, mainly because they hardly ever reach their full size.
A lot of fish like to chase each other around, I guess that's their way of having fun, as long as they're not hurting one another it's ok.

Marine Tank Set-up

Posted by AJ:
If any one can help it would be greatly appreciated.
1.How hard is it to take care of a saltwater tank?
2.How often do you add salt and is it expensive?
3. I have a 29 gallon freshwater tank I am thinking of switching (I also have a above gravel filter)In a estimate how much do I need or get rid of?
4.How often do you have to switch filter cartridges?
Thanks so much!

Clint wrote:
Salt tanks are harder to take care of than freshwater. I'd say it's about as easy to take care of 3 fresh for every one salt.
You have to add about 10% new saltwater once a month at least. Salt is about 10 to 20 dollars for a 50 gallon size (enough to make 50 gallons)
You can keep and use your present filter. You'll need to get some crushed coral or aragonite gravel for the salt tank, to keep the pH level right. Add some live rock at 2 to 10 dollars a pound, you'll need about 10 pounds to start and add more when you can.
I don't use the cartridges, I just get a bag of "chemipure" and put it in the filter, it lasts for about 4 to 6 months.
Good Luck,
Clint

AJ wrote:
If you could you make a list of what a 29 gallon tank would need assuming they have a light one power filter and heater. Prices to I'm on a $250 budget. Please and also thanks for the other answers they really did help thanks.

Clint wrote:
Hi AJ,
I'm assuming you are talking about a marine tank.
If you just want a freshwater tank, you have everything you need except gravel and fish and plants.
If you are going to saltwater, heres what I would do on your budget.
1) a 25 pound bag of aragonite gravel ($10.00 to $20.00), or crushed coral if aragonite isn't available. Top it off with about 5 pounds of live sand ($5.00 to $10.00).
2) A good salt mix, they are mostly the same but it will be easier to get what is locally available. Go ahead and get a 50 gallon bag. (15.00 to 25.00)
3) about 10 pounds (More if you can get it) of live rock, its about 5 to 10 $ a pound.
4) A double bulb florescent fixture, bout $70.00 add 1 Triton bulb ($15.00) and one blue spectrum bulb ($15.00 to $20.00), if you have room on the top keep your old light too.
5) chemipure for the filter (7.50 to 10.00)
Now whatever you have left over you could get more live rock (very interesting stuff anyway) and your first couple of fish.
That should get you off to a great start. You can always add the more expensive critters later.
Good Luck,
Clint

Velvet Disease

Stephen wrote:
i have a tank with cardinal Tetras black neon Tetras pristilla Tetras and guppies and baby plays and the cardinals seem to have little golden spots on them it started on the tail and is going on to the body what is this???? please help

I know exactly what it is, it's called "Velvet", it's a parasite similar to Ich (ick). You can cure it by adding a teaspoon of salt per gallon or buying a fish parasite medicine with copper as the main ingredient.
Anyway you need to act fast, it spreads very quick.
Good Luck,
Clint

Spawning Bettas

Johnathan wrote:
I am trying to breed bettas. I think I am doing everything right, but they don't seem to want to breed together. This is my first time trying to breed them. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? Thank you for any suggestions. Oh yeah... I can also tell that the female is full of eggs.

Clint wrote:
Try raising the temperature to 82f. If they still don't spawn separate them for about 3 days and try again.
Other things you might try:
Do a water change with rain water or very soft water to simulate rain.
Add a floating plant leaf or sprig, or a half of a (cut long wise) styrofoam cup for the male to build his nest under.
Keep trying.
CN

Ne Var wrote:
Ack this is the one thing no one ever tells people about betta's need to be conditioned. T he female has to be in a separate jar for two weeks being fed nothing but live food. This not only puts her full of eggs put gets her in the mood for love. If conditioning is not done you might as well forget trying to breed it just aint gunna happen. Then put them beside each other for another week. Once he has a good bubble nest put her into the breeding tank with him and watch them carefully. The idea is to not put them together until the nest is good and he looks like he's past the point of wanting to kill her!!!!!!. IF it doesn't work then chances are he's not accepting her, or she's not accepting him try a different female/male

Marine Lighting

Steven wrote:
I have a 55gal saltwater tank (2 yrs.) with a yellow tang,a tomato clown,a clown trigger,3 damsels, 5 hermits,a banded carl shrimp and 8 turbo snails. I want to add some live rock and anemones. What type of lighting should i use? I have 2 Triton full spectrum T-12 36" florescent. Should i move up to VHO lighting? I really don't want to spend $500 on a light system!!! My local dealer says i need VHO sys. w/4 bulbs (2-blue and 2-white). Theirs got to be a cheaper way to correctly light my tank.

Clint wrote:
If it were me I'd get an additional double bulb fixture with another Triton bulb and one of the blue spectrum bulbs (not VHO).
I think this would run around 120.00 at the most.
The only reason for that much light is for the anemones (and corals if you want them too). If you can find some low light tolerant anemones you won't need anymore than you already have.
Anyway if I were going to spend 500 on lights I'd get a metal halide and be done with it.
Also put an add or look at your local newspaper ads for used lighting, you can find some real deals.
CN

High Temperature

Theresa wrote:
We've been having a brutal heat wave lately and the tank temp is around 26C (78F) (usually it's stays around 22C)but today it peaked at 28C (82F). I've got Mollies, Danios and Platies in there, what I'm wondering is if they are in any danger from the temperature going up like that. Also it's supposed to get even hotter outside probably raising their temp, when I should I start to worry, or should I (I'm from Canada, this is not usually a concern here, hee hee). Thanks guys.

Kitty Fish wrote:
Hey Theresa! I have a tank with a few Platies and a couple Cories. the tank fluctuates from around 79@nite to around 82-3 during the day.... they don't act any worse for the wear. but in warmer waters there is less dissolved oxygen. make sure you are running an air wand, it will also keep the water a bit cooler than it normally would be.
good luck!
Kitty Fish

Tank Divider

Tyesha wrote:
My Betta doesn't look happy in the 1 gallon tank that he is currently housed in but when he was in the 10 gallon tank with my Angelfish they were like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield the whole time that they were together so I had to take him out. Is there a such thing as a separator that I can put in the 10 gallon so that I can keep them in the same tank but in separate corners divided down the middle by the width. If such thing does exist, where can I get it and how much will it cost? If it doesn't, I will just have to invent it :o)!! If I did, will you all buy it ;oP? Thanks for all the help!!

Kitty Fish wrote:
hi Tyesha! yes separators exist and are made just for the reason you want.. though you can also use then to separate different sized fry. the separators are available at your LFS (local fish store) and shouldn't cost very much... good luck with it!
Kitty Fish

Spawning Mollies

Spazy D wrote:
Does anyone know how to breed Mollies or how to tell when they are pregnant or any info really. url's accepted. Thanks...

Clint wrote:
Mollies are livebearers, the female are constantly pregnant. They have babies about every 5 to 6 weeks, you can depend on it.
They like a little salt in their water and they eat just about all aquarium foods, but they really like algae.
Good Luck,
CN

Sazy D wrote:
yeah, but how do you tell which is female from male? I have three, one black and two orange.

Kitty Fish wrote:
males have a compacted anal fin... females have a broad anal fin...

Swimming Problem

Tyesha wrote:
I am having a problem with my Betta. I noticed about a week or so ago that he is swimming on his side. He has a healthy appetite and nothing else appears wrong with him. I thought that maybe it was because the temperature in his one gallon tank stayed around 70 degrees so I moved him to my 10 gallon where the heater is and it stays about 80-84 degrees. Will this help? What could be the reason? Is it treatable or is it too late? Please, help. Thanks

Kitty Fish wrote:
most likely your betta has air in his intestine.. feed him the regular amount of food and keep the temp, right there at 80-84... make sure you feed him sinking or live foods in the future. if this doesn't help he may have a swim bladder problem. if its bacterial, it can be cured by keeping the water very clean and maybe adding some salt, if its genetic there's nothing you can do. itd be up to you to decide if its best to put him down, or keep him.. lets hope its one of the first two!! good luck!
Kitty Fish

Rearranging Tank

Tyesha wrote:
I am adding new fish to my tank and in order to keep the fish from fighting over pre-established territory between the fish that are in there now and the new fish, I was told that I could just rearrange the setting so that everything would have to establish new territory (does this make sense--Am I explaining it right?) because all the fish that I have previously tried to put in ended up being killed by the prior ones. Is this technique true? Would it really help? Also, the tank that I am rearranging is 30 gallons, but I have 2 Tiger Barbs, 3 Zebra Danios, and 2 Serpaes that are extremely fast and hard to catch in it already. Is it safe to rearrange it while they are still in the tank? Will it hurt them in any way? Thanks for the help. Any other suggestion are welcome!

Kitty Fish wrote:
yes Tyesha, rearranging the tank is a good idea. it does, in fact force the fish to stake out new territories, including the new fish. you can also add new fish when refilling the tank after a water change or at nite after turning off the lights. I've never tried any of these... i guess i just have peaceful fish :)
good luck!
Kitty Fish