Recent content by ChuckinMA

With an inexpensive unit, like my vacuum syphon from a big box pet store, the hose friction "fittings" tend to become loose. When they pop off during use, it's a frigging mess. After adding four metal hose clamps, it would be have cheaper to buy a better unit.

That is a beautiful driftwood arrangement. You may want to soak it in warm water for a bit to get a sense of how much tanin it will release. Some driftwood such as mopani requires a lot of soaking before any use in an aquarium due to tanins.

Based on the pricing I've seen for larger clown loaches where I live, your mate would be getting a very good deal!!!

I have two in a 75 gallon tank and they are very entertaining fish; one of my favorites. The rate of growth is slow once they reach about 3 or 4 inches and even the smaller ones don't grow as quickly as many other fish. This may be attributable to the fact that they are a very long lived...

Does your sister have experience feeding the fish? Fish can be masters at conning a novice into overfeeding which would exacerbate water quality issues. If you decide to go with the less frequent water changes, you may still want to have a back-up plan in case you can't make it home...

What's the concern with beef heart? Haven't tried it, but I didn't know it wasn't a good alternative. Thanks.

an "algae eater" at a chain pet store that turned out to be a Chinese Algae Eater. Within a few months it was terrorizing everything in the tank, graziing on their slime coats, and chasing them nonstop. Near tripled in size.