Recent content by cwt

Well my experiment of adding the suspect food to a spare tank didn't do anything. So I'm ready to buy the plant idea. But now another tank of mine is busting with microrams! Usually have a few in there anyway, but now its a baby boom. Cutting back the food now...

Not going out of my way to get rid of them; they can stay for all I care; just wanted to know where they came from. I'll have to check out that pet store and see if their plant tanks have these in there. I have not observed Jack eating these yet. Which is odd since he eats everything. Probably...

This is the first day I've seen these (and they don't exist in my other tanks) so I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on them. And I'll hold off on using this food for awhile. Thanks for the replies, guys.

Nothing new in decor (plant or object) has entered this tank in at least 4 months. The last item was an Amazon sword which I bought in, I think, November. Having a hard time believing that it's the plant; that vendor keeps their plants segregated from the fish. They've emerged in force now...

Hey AA peeps, long time no type. I searched the forum but didn't come up with a match, so this is submitted for your feedback/curiosity/etc. My Jack Dempsey has been a little cranky, so I bought some new food for him. Cichlid flakes, by a popular manufacturer, have used their other stuff...

I've kept shrimp in a 10G betta tank before; they had a lot of cover in moss in that tank (was kinda overgrown, really). With anything betta, it depends on the personality of the fish. Your 29G tank sounds like the best bet, as long as moss or ferns are there to provide cover.

Moss is best. Java ferns also work well, they need surface area for hiding but also to scavenge food off of. The fish you listed shouldn't be a problem for small shrimp; keep barbs and cichlids away from them. Good luck with those temps, I think it's going down to -10C here tonight ;0

If I were on a tight budget and I already had the fish I want to have, I'd pull my plants and buy new ones; maybe gravel too and do a total rebuild. But that's just me; I haven't had time to work on the tanks (or post here!) in a while, and they're looking rough. But if your tanks ar in good...

Stick to your guns. Tougher to rebuild reputation than it is to build a resume'. I think part of the problem is that the fish people want to start with are almost always the wrong types to start with. I started with danios and corys, and they provided a lively active tank, but not a showy one...

I walked outside to check the mail... not that terrible, the air is moving. Probably because some big storm is coming. 109 heat index at the OSU airport. My favorite weather tweet from yesterday: "@Fake_Dispatch Fake Dispatch...

105 heat index, NW Columbus, Ohio right now. It seems to get like this here every 10 years or so... 1999 was hot, so was 1988... last night was the hottest evening I remember here since my birthday in 88... low temp overnight of 80... yikes. Looks like some storms are coming though so...

the API test kit is the one I bought 3 years ago when I started doing the fish thing; I have since bought new ammonia and pH chems for it, and have a hardness test which I rarely use.

Update: Essentially, all that are left are guppies now; I moved a few fish out of this tank to other ones, and they've generally survived. I'm starting to think it's short on oxygen, bacterial issues, or a combination of the two. Time to start this tank over. I've done manual water changes in...

tap water here is hard (gH) but low in calcium activity. I don't do pwc nearly often enough, and rarely a large one (25%). At this point a big water change and replant/regravel may be required; I'll post an update when I get a chance.

An additional thought is that around here (central Ohio), we had a very wet spring, followed by a short but very active planting period out in the agro areas. Then, big rains. I wonder if the nitrates in the tap water are high because of that...