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From: Clint
Subject: Re: problem? with worms in fresh water tank
Sounds like they are a worm called oligarthi (or something like that). If so they are harmless. I think Gouramis will eat them. Not based on your description but it might be possible that they are hydra, if so they would be a threat to any small fry. Hydra have a worm like base or stalk with a lot of "arms" sticking out of the top, like an anemone. Any of these worms can be killed off by adding some aquarisol or had-a-snail to the water at one drop per gallon.

 
From: Doug
Subject: Ph
I am starting up a tank and the PH needs to be about 6.7 to 7.0. My tap water is usually around 8.0. what is the best thing to do to get my PH to the 7.0 level? Any input would be appreciated Thanks

 
From: AJB
Subject: Re: Ph
Karen said exactly what I was thinking. It is more stressful to the fish to have a flucuating PH than a stable high one. Plus, it will stress you with all the chemicals and stuff. :-) HTH AJB

 
From: Rebecca
Subject: Re: Ph
I agree totally with Karen here. What fish are you planning to keep? Whenever you read recommended pH ranges for fish, these are "ideal" conditions required for breeding, in most cases, and have nothing to do with the pH that fish can live in happily for years. I've kept neons and cardinals in my 7.8 water for years. Even discus are more tolerant of local tap water nowadays because so many are now tank bred for several generations in those conditions. Stability is the most important part of pH. Most fish can live in anything up to 8.5 as long as it stays that way. Trying to keep your water at a different pH from what is natural to it is an expensive, time-consuming project that often results in wild fluctuations. This WILL kill fish. It is much easier not to fight your tap water. Anything you buy at your local fish store is living in your local tapwater, 99% of the time, that's what fish stores use. So you have less of an acclimatization problem, water changes are simple, and it will stay very stable. If you are interested in breeding something in particular which really does require a low pH, let us know and we'll try to help with how you would do that.

 
From: Karen
Subject: Re: Ph
Depends on what kind of fish you are going to keep and what you plan to do. If this is a community tank I would leave it alone. It is more stressful for the fish if the ph starts bouncing all around. My ph is 8.0 and my fish are all fine. If you are keeping something special like Discus then there are several methods from chemicals to using ro water to peat which is trickier. If you are wanting to breed fish that are not commonly bred in the home aquarium you might want to lower it. I suggest looking at fish that like your higher ph. Some cities use chemicals that keep the ph high and by messing with it can cause your to crash or bounce all around. Also when you do water changes you need to be sure the ph is exact. Then you need to keep a close eye on it to watch for fluctuations..

 
From: Paul D. Molina
Subject: Please
CAN SOMEONE PLS TELL ME WHAT TYPE OF FISH CAN LIVE TOGETHER IN HARMONY WITH FRESHWATER BIG HEAD PRAWNS. TANK U

 
From: Karen
Subject: After looking around
I have no idea. Sorry. Have never heard of anyone keeping these.

 
From: Hannah
Subject: Re: After looking around
I wouldn't risk anything. HANNAH

 
From: Hannah
Subject: Re: After looking around
I wouldn't risk anything. HANNAH

 
From: Jake
Subject: babies
I just bought some black mollies and one of them was pregnant and now i need to know if i need to separate the mom from the rest of the fish or keep her with them and how to feed them?

 
From: AJB
Subject: Re: babies
Yes they do need to be seperated if you want a lot to live. I love raising baby fish because I sell them and it helps a lot. Just a week ago I had 15 babies appear, worth three dollars for one! They will take crunched flake food. I draped mesh netting over the tank and the babys went for the well planted bottom for cover. AJB

 
From: Leslie
Subject: Re: babies
Yes, she needs to be in a breeding tank. They're little plastic containers that will allow her to swim enclosed on the top half. There's a trap-door "v" in between her half and the baby's half. When she gives birth, the fry will drop through the trap-door and out of her reach. After she's had all of her babies, she can go back into the regular tank. The fry can either stay in the breeding tank or in a tank of their own if you have a small extra one. For feeding, the lid removes for you to put flakes in for the mother and then you can just put the lid back on. For the fry, there is a food I use, Fry Bites, that has always worked well, or you can get some liquid fry food, live-bearer formula. The fry eat tiny amounts multiple times a day.

 
From: Steph
Subject: Bettas and Plants
Hi, I'm curious about what other types of plants that can used with Beta fish. The peace lilly appears to be quite common. Can any water loving plant that has been been placed in water and allowed roots to be developed be used?? How about the "Cascade" classic trailing ivy?? Thanks, Steph

 
From: Kathleen
Subject: Re: Bettas and Plants
I dispise the betta peace lily set up because,contrary to what people are told in pet stores, bettas need more room to swim. They also need to be kept in correct temp water that is properly conditioned. They also need to be fed twice a day...and not a constant diet of fd blood worms. If you must do this...change water every 2 days and no diffenbachia...poisonous.

 
From: Karen
Subject: A few ideas
First, as already pointed out bettas do need room to move. I have a vase that holds almost a gallon of water. I root a few philodendrons in there and keep a betta in there to. Make sure you do not cram as many plants as possible in the vase so the betta has plenty of room, change the water at least once a week, twice is so much better and feed daily. Make sure the betta has a large enough area to get to the surface. This needs to be a vase with a wide opening. Many different plants will work. Oh, and don't let any leaves rot in the water.

 
From: geoff
Subject: Fish exploding?!
Anybody ever had there fish's stomach explode? I had a Tiger Barb die that got really fat. It looks like he has a hole in the side of stomach where it exploded. I can't find anything on it anywhere. Thanks!

 
From: Elmo
Subject: Best way to breed bettas
I've found that this is the most accurate and safest method for the bettas for you to breed them. I've had three succesful spawns out of three :) http://www.angiesbettaaquaria.com/breeding_bettas_page.htm

 
From: Karen
Subject: Response to survey
I feed a variety of foods to all my fish. They all get whatever i am feeding that day and I usually feed morning and evening just because I like to watch them. My favorite flake food is Omega One, made in Alaska. Frozen bloodworms, frozen goldfish food, frozen brine shrimp, freeze dried daphnia, thawed peas. I think a page where people can introduce themselves would be great. As for how you can improve the site I do not know. I do not like sites that have so much stuff that you get lost looking at it all so (KIS) Keeping it Simple is my suggestion.

 
From: Leslie
Subject: Betta Feeding
I have one male betta that I recently moved into my small 5.5 gallon community tank. Before that, he was in my divided betta tank with 2 other males. I fed them all betta bites. Since moving into the community tank it's been hard to feed him the bites due to the water current from the pump. I can shut off the air stone during feeding time, but I'm afraid he isn't getting enough food because it drifts away before he sees it. I make sure he gets at least one bite, but he always seems to look for more. Even though it's in there, he isn't fast enough to get it. Is there any way to make a stationery feeder for him in just a small tank or will he eventually just start eating the flakes? I mix water fleas and/or brine shrimp or bloodworms with the flakes.

 
From: Lois
Subject: Re: Betta Feeding
Don't know if this will help for you, but I feed one pellet at a time by holding my fingers just above the water next to him and dropping it by his head. He has learned to come to the surface when I put my fingers close--learns fast when food is involved! But he will also eat the flake food the others get so I only give him couple of pellets. Good luck! Hopefully he will also learn to chase the pellets when they get away.

 
From: Leslie
Subject: Re: Betta Feeding
That's what I've been doing and he's learned just today not only to come to my hand, but to come to a far corner of the tank. He has eaten about four or five pellets today. Thanks!

 
From: Kathleen
Subject: Re: Betta Feeding
Another good method is to use a worm feeder. Discard the suction cup and funnel and use only the plastic ring. It floats and creates a calm in the middle of it. The fish can swim right into the middle and eat just fine.

 
From: Clint
Subject: I fixed the 00 01 date problem
The message board has been putting the year as 00 instead of 01. I am pretty sure I have fixed it. I am using this post to check.

 
From: AJB
Subject: Re: I fixed the 00 01 date problem
took ya long enough lol! :-)

 
From: Karen
Subject: Gee
I had not even noticed, real observant huh?

 
From: Clint
Subject: How I feed my fish
I feed my growing fry as many times a day as I can, as long as they "clean their plate", grown fish that I am not actively spawning just get fed once a day. I usually buy several different brands of flakes, I mix up all the brands into another container that has a wide mouth, it's easier to get a pinch, I also mix in some freeze-dried blood-worms. So when I feed them they get a real mix of a lot of different dry foods. I also feed the grown-ups a treat of frozen brineshrimp 2 or 3 times a week, and grindal worms sometimes, but they are usually saved for growing juvenilles (sp?) I use micro-worms and baby brineshrimp for small fry, but I am really trying to find some kind of substitue for baby brineshrimp (bbs)because they are so much trouble. I have ordered some stuff called Golden Pearls, it's a dry food that is suppose to be neutral buoyant, so they will float in midwater and move with the current (the fish thinks it's alive, if anyone has used this before I'd like to know your reactions) One more thing, the tanks that get fed a lot also get more frequent water changes. Clint

 
From: Alyssa
Subject: Re: How I feed my fish
I have a 55 gallon tank with 4 Angel fish, 5 Serpae Tetras, 3 cories, 2 Bala sharks and 3 Cosby Blue gouramis. I also have a 15 g tank with 9 female and 2 male guppies and a 10 g tank that is my fry/hospital tank depending on the case. My 55g tank gets feed once a day with 3 pinches of regular fish flakes. As the flakes sink the Balas and tetras get them and what lands on the floor gets cleaned up by the cories. Every few days i throw in some shrimp pellets, algae waffers (everyone loves them!), freeze-dried tubifex worms, or some dried sea-weed. My guppies get 2-3 feedings or flakes a day, crushed a bit, and the same special treats. My fry, when i have them, get fed baby brine shrimp every 2 hours or so. I think next batch i raise i will try the egg-yolk. I heard it keeps better and isn't as annoying as getting the shrimp hatched. You hard boil an egg, tanke the yolk and put it in a cloth. Then you dunk it in water and squeeze it into a container, repeat a bunch. Some people claim some fry are too small for even brine shrimp but can handle the egg-yolk. I'll let evryone know how my experiment goes after i try it (which won't be till January).

 
From: fire ice
Subject: Re: How I feed my fish
I have a 30 gallon community tank with zebras, guppies, swords, and a dwarf gourami. they are fed flakes once or twice a day and I occasionally feed gelatin-based food. Next there are two 10 gal tanks with two comets each. they get fed once a day on a mixture of flakes and betta bites (the bettas actually won't eat them). Last but not least, there's a divided 2 gallon tank with two male bettas, one red (kenny) and one blue (big blue). they are fed freeze-dried red grubs, siince they won't eat the betta bits.

 
From: Grady
Subject: Re: How I feed my fish
I'm new in the fish game yall,vso whenever I sound silly, just help a brother out!! I have two small convicts in a 30 gal tank...I have ruby reds in there with them and sometimes throw in some Cichlid Gold baby pellets. Ive given them raw shrimp, turkey on thanksgiving, and the inside of string beans.......I have another tank with a betta, 2 mollies, and a few guppies.....they basically get flakes and betta food, they all eat the same stuff when I put it in...(my wife's tank!!) Anything I need to add to any of my fish's diets?

 
From: Leslie
Subject: Re: How I feed my fish
Currently, I have six guppy fry which are one month old. I have been feeding them fry bites frequently in very small quantities at a time. I had started them off with the liquid fry food, but have not given them any of that for the past three days. It can really cloud the tank and they seem to want the fry bites more now anyway. I have two community tanks, one 10 gallons and one 5.5 gallons. I have a variety of fish in each tank and feed them once in the morning and once at night. I also mix the regular flakes with spirluna algae flakes, sun-dried water fleas, blood worms and baby shrimp. That way, everything is already in the same container (I, too, use a wide-lid container) when I'm ready to feed. For occasional treats, I give the fish Tetra Nature's Delica in brine shrimp, water fleas, or blood worms formula. They love that stuff! I have a 2.5 gallon, 3-chambered betta tank, which currently is holding 3 bettas. They seem to only want betta bites, so I feed them 2-3, twice a day. I do weekly water changes on all my tanks and monitor the pH, ammonia, and nitrite levels regularly. My tanks are well-established and I usually only lose an occasional fish to old age.

 
From: Clint
Subject: A questionaire - Please respond everyone
I'd like to get a few things started. 1. I'd like to have everyone let us know your feeding methods, what you feed, how often, how much etc. I'll start it off on my next message. 2. I want everyone to know that I will be happy to host any pictures of your fish, or your aquariums or anything related. Just email them to me and tell me what you want it to say. 3. I'd like to know if anyone would be interested in having a "About Me" page. Something like where you live, what fish you have, what fish you want or anything you'd like to say (don't have to say anything you don't want to) 4. Let me know anything else I can do to make Petfish.net better Thank You all for coming and making this website a success Clint

 
From: Lucy
Subject: Re: A questionaire - Please respond everyone
I feed my betta a pinch of a mix I make them. I feed them this about three times a day (my dad may feed them more though).

 
From: lucy
Subject: Re: A questionaire - Please respond everyone
I feed my goldfish(comets)a pinch or two of fancy goldfish food. I feed them this about the same as the bettas.

 
From: Christopher
Subject: Re: A questionaire - Please respond everyone
first, let me tell you what I have, then I will answer the questions.... I have a 10 gallon tank that I have loaded with plants. My pets are...3 bettas(1 male, 2 females), 2 black fin(name?) tetras, 2 ottosinclas(spelling?), 3 dwarf corri cats, 1 dwarf frog(he is sooo cute:)), and 4 ghost shrimp. Ok, my feeding is 3 times a day I put a small SMALL pinch of flake food that I crush(the tetras are spoiled) 2 times a day I put in about 4 or 5 floating pellets (the frog loves them) and once a day i put about 4 or 5 'betta bites'. I am taking a chance on overfeeding, but I have so many plants that I feel like I need to over feed and I do a weekly water change of about a gallon and a half to two gallons to make up for it. Plus the tettras, the shrimp, and the cats seem to be constantly eating off the bottom, and everything that I have read and looked up is that these animals will not overeat like a dog will, so with the eating habbits and my cleaning, I think that they are doing great........ question 2.....sorry, no digital camera yet, and the scanner was bought at a yard sale and wound up screwing up my computer:( no pics from me, and I think that I have a beautiflu set up with all the plants and all. question 3...I would love the idea of a "about me" page. I think that it would be a great way for new people to get ideals and instruction and also a great way for the regulars to this sight to get to know one another. question 4....Thank you so much for this web message board. It has made my first aquarium an incredible learning experience. From reading all of the posted messages to other ppl, to the ppl who were nice enough to reply to the questions that I posted, I have learned so much from just checking this sight about once a day. Thank you, thank you thank you!!!!! I cant think of anything that would improve this site other than a chat room availible to those who are on line.

 
From: AJB
Subject: Re: A questionaire - Please respond everyone
1. I feed whatever I am in the mood to feed them. The list of things I feed are: Flake (the color whatever kind) Freezedried bloodworms Frozen brine shrimp Live brine shrimp Daphina (freeze dried) Sinking algae wafers Sinking wafers for catfish and loaches I think that is all I feed once a day, but only one or two foods 2. ok 3.Yes, an about me page would be neat 4. If you can, more pictures would be nice. A way to determine how many posts one has posted, kind of like the message board at www.theaquarians.net other than that it is pretty ok AJB

 
From: Drew
Subject: Re: A questionaire - Please respond everyone
1. I use "Betta Bio-Gold for my betta. He seems to like it. (for today) 2. I use a combination of frozen brine shrimp, and TetraMin Pro for my Black Moor, Red Spot Oranda and other Oranda, and also with my Celestial (Bubble-eye). They seem so love the shrimp. Although the bubble eye (Dimples) has a hard time feeding, there seems to be something partially blocking his veiw... ;) O(.)_(.)O Drew

 
From: Leslie
Subject: Re: A questionaire - Please respond everyone
I think it all sounds like a good idea.

 
From: Kathleen
Subject: Re: A questionaire - Please respond everyone
Sounds fine to me.

 
From: katiie
Subject: Re: A questionaire - Please respond everyone
I feed all my bettas Betta Bites. My tetras get tropical flake food, and my snail eats algae wafers. The tank with the the tetras and betta is a challenge trying to make sure betta gets his bites. he is to busy trying to eat all the flakes. I am still trying to get some decent pictures developed to send in. I don't have a digital or web cam and i am determined to develop something usable with a regular camera. If you have an about me page I would love to be involved. This is the best site for fish learning! Thanks katie

 
From: Grady
Subject: convict cichlid
Will female convicts lay eggs if there are no males in their tank to fertilize? If so, how often and how will they respond??

 
From: Clint
Subject: Re: convict cichlid
It is possible that 2 females will go thru the motions, but the infertile eggs will just decay. Most females without a male will simply re-absorb their eggs with no problems, but occasionaly they get "egg bound", this isn't a common problem though so don't worry too much about it. It isn't necessary to have a male with them to just keep them. Clint

 
From: Grady
Subject: Re: convict cichlid
Thanx Clint......my two convicts have a bunch of eggs on the surface of a big rock in my tank...the guy at the p et store told me I had two females, but in looking on the internet, I learned that a male could also have a little orange on his belly....I think I see a small bump on his head but I'm not sure. They both seem to have something hanging from their underbellies....does that confirm that they are both females?

 
From: Clint
Subject: Re: convict cichlid
Well they have spawned, but from your description of an egg tube hanging from both they seem to be 2 females. If you notice the eggs turning dark then they are developing, if they aren't fertilized they will turn white and fungus up pretty quick. Clint

 
From: lucy
Subject: please answer my betta dancing one
I am now desperate

 
From: Clint
Subject: Re: please answer my betta dancing one
answered below

 
From: Lucy
Subject: Artificial double tails? (bettas)
I've heard of artificial double tails what are these bettas that have had someome take some scissors to them or they haven't fully recovered from something that cut them what what

 
From: Clint
Subject: Re: Artificial double tails? (bettas)
I agree with Karen (seems like I often do) that it is possible someone would do it for greedy reasons, but it should be obvious to tell if it's real or not. I personally prefer single tails anyway and I haven't really ever had a double tail.

 
From: Karen
Subject: Re: Artificial double tails? (bettas)
I would not be surprised if someone was cutting the tails just to make more money. I have not heard of it but suspect it happens.

 
From: Carla
Subject: Betta eating behavior?
Hello there! I've had a male betta for a few days in a "Betta Hex", and when I feed my betta a "betta bite", he does this "choking action" as he chews it, like he's "cracking" the food- it lasts for a few seconds, then he's fine. Does his food need to be softened? Or is that normal? Also, sometimes after eating he opens his mouth *really* wide and then closes it again- is that discomfort, or just fish behavior? :) Just wondering, thanks! Carla

 
From: Christopher
Subject: Re: Betta eating behavior?
bettas are hardy fish and eat just about anything. the betta bites are supposed to be nutritionaly sound for infrequent feeding, but my bettas, I have 3 in a comunity tank eat constantly everything they can find. Dont worry about tank size (natural habbitat is mudd puttles) but if you are worried try to break up the food a little.

 
From: Kathleen
Subject: Re: Betta eating behavior?
I've never seen this behavior with any of my bettas. Sometimes the food can be to big...try pinching it in half with your fingernail. When you say he is in a betta hex how big is it? To small a space is actually very stressful for them.

 
From: Clint
Subject: Re: Betta eating behavior?
Sounds like the food might be a little hard. I feed my Bettas the same kinds of foods that all my other fish get Flakes, grindal worms, frozen brine shrimp. Theres nothing special about Betta bites or any of those other "special" Betta foods. Nothing except the price.

 
From: Lucy
Subject: Re: Betta eating behavior?
I think you should try softening the food but all bettas are diferent it can be normal.

 
From: drew
Subject: does syphoning a small tank create 2 much stress for a fish during h20 changes? Should I take fish out? N/T
... ty

 
From: Clint
Subject: Re: does syphoning a small tank create 2 much stress for a fish during h20 changes? Should I take fish out? N/T
It shouldn't be a stressful vent for the fish if you do it right. I have written a web page about this. here it is: Water Changes For Sensitive Fish And Fry Clint

 
From: Rebecca
Subject: Re: does syphoning a small tank create 2 much stress for a fish during h20 changes? Should I take fish out? N/T
You don't say how small the tank is. Catching fish, taking them out of the tank, putting them into another container, then putting them back in the tank again causes more stress than just about anything. :) Personally I would never do this for anything short of a major renovation project. When you're doing tank maintenance, start at one end and slowly move across. If you keep your hands and siphon moving in a quiet way, without abruptly jerking, splashing, or jabbing in the direction of the fish, even nervous fish usually just move away from you without panicking. Move across in such a way that you're not cornering them, so there's always a clear route away from you. Maybe the most important thing -- avoid banging your equipment against the glass/rocks/decoration. This does stress fish, you'll notice they jerk and dart if you're banging things around in there. Slow and gentle is the key, they'll be fine. In time they usually start to ignore you.

 
From: Drew
Subject: hot water fish?
It's sad that I live in hawaii, but the water in my 10-gal tanks are between 80-85 degrees. I dont know if its the cheap plastic sticky temp reader on the outside of my tank, or if its my apartment. My LFS told me to put ice packs inside... (really?) Maybe I should put Margarita salt on the rim as well??? :) If anyone can help me cool of this summer Id appreciate it. PS the tanks are out of the sun in a nice shadey place, with a 6-in bubble wand, and a whisper filter (not the biowheel) (im cheap). Ok thats it i think... thanks a lot everyone!!!!!! Happy thanksgiving (belated) Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!!

 
From: Drew
Subject: TYVM: Clint, Lucy, AJB, and Karen. NT
...

 
From: Clint
Subject: Re: hot water fish?
I have to deal with this same thing in July and August. I wouldn't go with the ice, that would be a real pain to have to do every day. There are a lot of Fish like Bettas and Discus to name a couple that do fine in warm water. But the solution I have to use sometimes is to set up a fan that will blow accross the tops of the tanks. This cools them by speeding up evaporation, so you'll have to add water more often. Also I would get at least one regular (not stick on) thermometer to get a accurate temp of the tank. I'd be interested in what kind of ideas you come up with because I am sure to have to deal with this agin next Summer (in North America)

 
From: Lucy
Subject: Re: hot water fish?
I'd go with the ice packs maybe not inside the tank though but around the tank.you could also try moving the tank near a air conditioner or put a fan next to it. Also is that the highest it goes cause if their tropical fish then I think it should be fine. Well thats my idea but bear in mind I've been into fish for a long time but bearly got my bettas after my dad gave the last fish(a kissing Gouami) of the aqarium away thats about three years I only read up on fish not keeping them that said do what you like with my advice . Good Luck Drew!!!:) P.S I'm new to this chatboard oh and if you Now anything on bettas breeding habits please asnwer my post it's betta dancing (posted it today earlier today).

 
From: AJB
Subject: Re: hot water fish?
I have never done this, and per what Karen said about cold spots, I would put them in the filter. The water will circulate over them and make it so it should work. Welcome to the board by the way, Lucy! AJB

 
From: Karen
Subject: Re: hot water fish?
The problem with icing a tank is you can create cold spots which is not healthy for the fish. I would look for fish that come from hot climates, are there any native fish to Hawaii that you can legally keep?

 
From: Lois
Subject: Can a 2.5 or 3 gallon tank be cycled??
Hi, more questions. My 10 gallon tank is cycled and doing fine. I am wondering how to treat the tiny tank I have, and another one I am considering which is about 3 gallons. Can the very small ones be cycled, or do you do complete or frequent large water changes? I was using the 2.5 (actually only holds 2, but was sold as 2.5) rectangular tank as a hospital tank. I know people recommend at least 5 but did not have one and did have the 2.5 and a sick betta. The antibiotics kept it from any chance of cycling. But now I have 2 small female bettas in it with a submersible heater and a slow bubbling airstone and gravel and some java moss and silk plants--no filter but I see some small ones available that go inside the tank and attach to air pump...am I right in thinking that I do not need this with the bettas? Or would it be better to put one in if I plan to keep these fish in it for any length of time? Anyway, what I am wondering is if you can cycle this size of tank, or for that matter a large fish bowl--I see some of these with filtration systems. I really expect to get a 7 gallon, which I would cycle, but not immediately. Thanks for your help!

 
From: Christopher
Subject: Re: Can a 2.5 or 3 gallon tank be cycled??
Ok, I may be wrong, and if I am tell, me, but in the research that I have done, betta's natural habbitat is mudd puddles. So if you have a plant in the tank and do partial water changes (add water when it evaporates) they are living in the lap of luxury so to speak. Bettas are hardy and not as 'bad' as everyone makes them out to be. I have 3 ... a male and 2 females... in my comunity tank and everyone gets along great. you just have to have the right fish and environment to go with them. but as for cycling a small tank with a betta, dont worry about it, just make sure you have a small plant to provide oxygen and don't overfeed and muck up the water.

 
From: Drew
Subject: this prob. wont help at all, but my results are...
i have a betta in a gallon water pitcher with gravel and a fake plant. He (beast)loves it. I dont have a filter either. SO like you I dont cycle the tank either. He seems fine. From what I hear Bettas are really tough so you can get away with some little things. ummmm... what I do though is add a teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon of water, and I use this product called Melafix. Its a antibacterial remedy. I like it because it's not chemical it's made from tea tree extract. That way it doesnt dammage your ph, or good bacteria. I just change my water 50% one a week and things seem fine. As for a hospital tank. I have a 10 gallon. I really dont know what the min. should be. Im sure someone will post very soon addressing that... Im so sorry that i souldnt be much help... Good luck with you fish! Drew

 
From: Kathleen
Subject: Re: this prob. wont help at all, but my results are...
It's better to do a weekly water change if the tank is 2 or 3 gallons. I change my 2 gal once a week, my 4 gal. every 10 days and my 5 gal. every 3 weeks (only 1 betta in it and no measurable ammonia in 4 wks) but I change it every 3 to be on the safe side. A one gallon pitcher that is only partially changed once a week? OMG! Most betta people I know do complete changes every other day in such a small thing. Bettas ARE NOT tough and no there is no room for a lot of mistakes with them. In fact, they are very fragile. Fin rot and other diseases can be quite prevalent. They need correct temp, conditioned water and food twice a day. A tsp of salt in a 1 gal container is to much...more like a half or quarter tsp. I don't use any aquarium salt in my betta's water and they are healthy.

 
From: Leslie
Subject: Molly Shimmy
I have 3 pearl white lyre-tail mollies, one male, 2 females. The male and the larger female are fine. The smaller female was doing that shimmy thing this morning. I added salt to the water and checked the water quality which was good except for an elevated ammonia level. I put in some Ammo Lock 2. She continued to have the shimmy this afternoon and I put her in an isolation tank. What causes this? She seems to be eating ok, maybe a little less than normal, but I can visualize anything wrong with her. I've lost mollies before after they had the shimmy. Any remedies?

 
From: Clint
Subject: Re: Molly Shimmy
Salt (which you've already added) and warmth. Mollies like it warm. 76 to 82 degrees F

 
From: Lucy
Subject: Dancing betta
Well I'm breeding my betta and Lucy is ready Rickey has a nest and is ready but she's in one corner and Ricky in another with the nest. Now to the dancing. He charges her flaring but at the last minute turns and slowly rippling his fins heads for the nest. Is he trying to get her to go and if so why when she goes to the nest he chases her off? But she's acting like she did the last time they did it. Please help. Oh and his nest is around the heater is that okay.

 
From: Clint
Subject: Re: Dancing betta
This sounds just like a typical confused Betta breeding. I mean this is the way they usually do it. The male is torn between fighting or spawning, don't know what to do himself. But they usually get it right sooner or later. You have a typical male, been waiting for this all his life, and now that his moment has come, he can't perform.

 
From: Christopher
Subject: Re: Dancing betta
ROFL!!!! I know! I have 3 bettas in a comunity tank and the male cant make up his mind what he is doing! He hides for a while in my fake cave rock. then he comes out and hangs out in his "bubble nest area" and puffes up and showes of for the girls, and then when they finaly come around he turns around and ignores them. These guys are a riot to watch and are by far the best addition to my community tank. Have fun and good luck. I personaly am not going to encourage breeding in any of my fish, but I feel your pain regardless.

 
From: EEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeK!!
Subject: Internal parasite!!!!!
I have been told by my LFS that my fish have internal parasites? or intestinal parasites? And that, that is the reason why they have hollow bellies. How do I treat them? They have been like this for some time, but their behavior is 100% normal. I use salt in my water. Will that kill the little buggers?

 
From: Carol
Subject: Re: Internal parasite!!!!!
Try Parasite Guard, or Internal Parasite Guard. Both products are made by Jungle.

 
From: Hello.
Subject: Re: Internal parasite!!!!!Do they sell jungle in the UK?

 
From: Canibal tiger barbs!!!!!!
Subject: Little nippers!
I own a 10g with 2 mollies and 3 tigers. the problem is that they are nipping eachothers and the mollies fins! I know I should have more and at one point I did but the other tigers died and now I am told that My tank would be over stocked if any more were added! Also, 2 of the barbs are older, (about 11 months) and the other is only very young and is very energetic and faster than the others. What should I do?

 
From: Karen
Subject: Re: Little nippers!
11 months old is still young for tigers, I have kept them over 5 years. If all you have is 2 mollies and three tigers AND your tank is well established, been running for 3 or more months with no problems I would do one of two things. Go ahead and add 2 more tigers. This will be a little bit crowded but not unmanageable. Do a 20% water change once a week vacuming the gravel. If you do this regularly, when you miss a week for some reason there should be no problems. If you have live plants then just vacum the surface. Or trade the tigers in and get something a little calmer.

 
From: eliz60@webtv.net
Subject: white small worms
help cant get rid of them...what are they?? dont use live food..have tried salt appeas to kil them but they come back

 
From: Lisa
Subject: Re: white small worms
i've battled these lil buggers several time. i think that it was clint that suggested that i use a copper base Rx [found at your lps] but you gotta remember to remove your invertibrates, this will kill them. i've used it and they're gone. maybey this will help.

 
From: Karen
Subject: Re: white small worms
Many have done battle with these guys. They are usually a result of overfeeding or dirty gravel. Weekly vacuming of the gravel should help, cories and loaches are supposed to eat them. Actually all fish eat. As for what will kill them will probably kill your fish too. The salt just is probably killing the weaker ones. I have yet to deal with these, thankfully. Maybe someone with experience with these and not just what they read like me will answer.

 
From: koko
Subject: Re: white small worms
Guppies love to eat them too.

 
From: Jessica
Subject: do these work
If I have some tiger barbs than can I put like a couple firemouth cichlids and maybe some bala sharks? Would that be a good mix or not? If you have any other suggestion please tell me.

 
From: Karen
Subject: First
I need to know what size tank we are talking about and how many fish are in there now. Bala Sharks get large, 7-12 inches and need a large tank, 55 gallons or more, 75 or more would be better. Firemouths can get territorial and really mess up a tank when spawning. i can come up with lot's of ideas if I know what size tank we are talking about.

 
From: Jessica
Subject: Re: First
Thanks for responding! I have a 29 gallon aqaurium. I have 4 tiger barbs. I had more but they died after they didn't get accoustomed to the aquarium. None of the others ones have died so I think I got the sick one out fast enough. Please help.

 
From: Karen
Subject: ok
I would get two more tigers to help with their nippiness, if you want one group of fish and then a couple of singles I would maybe do a total of seven Tigers.. Let's see, tankmates. I kept clown loaches with mine which was fun but the loaches did outgrow the tank. Cories are nice, a school of 5 in a 29 is doable, they have a neat schooling behavior that is fun to watch. I like hatchet fish for the top, again a schooling fish but a loose school. 3 -5 would be nice. A redtailed black shark will do ok in a 29 but they do have a few draw backs. They can get nippy, only one to a tank and a 29 is a little small, they get around 6 inches. So 5-7 Tigers, 3-5 cories, 3-5 Hatchet fish and a shark. Add one species at a time so as to slowly increase your bioload. 12- 18 fish. I may be back with another idea as this is my favorite question.

 
From: Jessica
Subject: Re: ok
Thanks for the information! Those sound like nice fish . Please let me know if you think of any more that would go good with my tiger barbs.

 
From: Karen
Subject: Re: ok
For something a little different you could consider the anostomus, they are a headstander, swimming in an angled manner. About 4 inches. It is recomended to keep them in a large shoal or as a single specimen or tehy can get aggressive. My dad alwasy kept them as singles. They eat algae and other vegetable matter with their food. This in place of the shark.

 
From: Lucy
Subject: Betta Breeding
Help???

 
From: jarrod rambert
Subject: Re: Betta Breeding
what do want to know about breeding.first of all you need an empty1-2 gallon tank ;be sure that the female that you choose has her egg tube present.email me to get all the info.I own6 fighters and I have lots of experience

 
From: Alyssa
Subject: Middle of the tank
hey everyone, and a good day to you and a happy birthday to me! I have a 50 g tank. I've got 3 cories on the bottem, 6 serpae tetras that also like the bottem. 2 bala sharks that kinda go everywhere... fast, 3 blue gouramis that stay on the top and 4 angel fish that hide behind plants. Now my question would be..... (drum roll) Can anyone recommend fish that swim in the middle of the tank? There's fish above, and fish below, but nothing in between. The balas aren't the graceful middle swimmers i hoped for .It's not the look i'm going for.

 
From: Christopher
Subject: Re: Middle of the tank
I belive that the black skirt tetra would be what you are looking for. Not collorful, but would fill the space so to say.

 
From: karen
Subject: Re: Middle of the tank
none, you have a lot of fish in there already. You also have several middle swimmers that I am guessing are feeling too stressed to act normaly. The tetras and angels are middle swimmers and the balas should be lower middle. Blue Gouramis should be middle to upper level swimmers. This kind of behavior is not unexpected in a newly setup tank. I am thinking the fast moving balas might be spooking the slower graceful angels. The kind of hiding behavior you describe can also be attributed to high ammonia, how old is your tank and what are you filtering with. How often are you doing water changes? Your balas and angels will be more than your tank can handle when they are full grown so you are going to have to maintain a good water changeing schedule.

 
From: Alyssa
Subject: Re: Middle of the tank
My tanks been set up for well over a year now. I live in northern alberta and we get of water from a dugout so there's no chemicals or anything in it. My filter is a fluval 304 and everyone comments on how clear my water is. I'm thinking i don't do regular enough water changes. But to empty a 50 g tank even 25% is a lot of work... but no excuses, right? Could my tetras be nervous from my angels? The angels are big enough to eat neons, or i'm assuming since i use to have 4 of them and never did find bodies. I plan on trading in my bala sharks when they get to big. My local Petland is real good to deal with. I'll get my butt in gear and do my work, i didn't realize i already had middle swimmers. Thanks Karen!

 
From: Karen
Subject: Re: Middle of the tank
If your angels are large enough they could intimidate everything in your tank. Especially if they are setting up a place to lay their eggs. Two females will lay infertile eggs. If they have over half the tank to themselves this is what is probably happening.

 
From: hoping!
Subject: Cory cats dead, red mouth, strange behavior, help!
I have a fairly new tank, about 2 months old. I had 5 zebra danios and two neon tetras. I added 3 cory catfish on Wednesday. They seemed healthy, acted normal. Today one had a very red, bloody looking mouth, and I watched him for a while and he suddenly started running in to the glass and swimming eratically. I thought maybe he had bloodied his mouth doing that. I looked for the other corys and noticed one was missing. Looked under a rock and there he was, dead. The other is on the bottom of the tank, looking normal. I got the dead one and the sick? one out immediately, and I'm worried now, what is wrong with them? Is this a disease I don't know of? Will my other fish die? Does anyone have any clue? Help! These two fish came from two separate tanks at petco, so how likely is it that they both had a disease? I mean, a disease they both just contracted couldn't kill them in two days could it? Any info is appreciated!

 
From: Karen
Subject: Re: Cory cats dead, red mouth, strange behavior, help!
Red bloody mouth makes me think somehow the mouth was injured. What are you using for substrate and decorations?

 
From: Stacey
Subject: Bored??
I got 3 fish, one is a blind black moor, the other two are orange caps (goldfish), well they all just kinda sit on the bottom of the tank??, they come up occaisonally to feed, but other than that, they just sit there. Are they bored, dying or what??? I would hate to lose them now that I got them, any advice???

 
From: Lucy
Subject: Re: Bored??
Patti heaters are a no no. Goldfish are cold water fish. Thats why people say you can't keep them with tropicle fish they'll get stressed out.

 
From: Patti C for Lucy
Subject: Re: Bored??
Lucy----- I'm not the one that has a heater on our goldies.Our fish are doing just fine along with the babies.She just laid more eggs. This is the 2nd time for the eggs.I just don't have the room for more babies.I wish I did.They are going to be 3 weeks old soon time to give them away. I have alot of fish friends that will take them.thanks for responding. Patti C :)

 
From: Patti C
Subject: Re: Bored??
I had 2 gold fish in a 2 1/2 gallon tank. They had babies about 400 babies.Some had died. I had the babies in a 15 gallon tank. Today the babies are were transfered into the 2 1/2 and the parents I put in the 15 gallon tank.So I switched it the other way around.Our fish sit at the bottom as well they don't move much. I think at times that they are not happy either.I totally cleaned there tank out today.I dumped out all the dirty water. Ours are about 2 inches long. They don't seem to mind us fishing them out and putting them in new water when its time.I'm hopeing they will respond to there clean surroundings. What I do other times is take half the water out and with a fish catcher try to get most of there wastes out. Then vaccum.It seems to work well.I just looked at ours and they are swimmin around. I sure hope yours perk up for you. Patti C.

 
From: Jessica
Subject: Re: Bored??
I think that your fish might be cold. I used to have some goldfish and they stayed at the bottom until feeding time. I got a heater and that cured it right up!