Recent content by Epicenter

It hasn't been cycled due to lack of resources, e.g. I can't be going out and buying mollies I won't be keeping in the tank. I didn't honestly assume it would be that crucial (never needed to cycle a tank before for success really) so I wasn't able to justify spending weeks playing with ammonia...

I'm encountering some odd clouding issues with my new 10g that seem to crop up everyday even with daily 50% water changes, I'm not thrilled with my gravel selection now that I am opting for heavily planting this tank, and am thinking that tearing down the tank, removing the fish, refilling it...

Well, like I said this hood doesn't seem to accept flourescent bulbs and shipping them to Japan may be a bit of a hassle (and costly). Is a powerful desk lamp OK? How many watts is advisable and how high should it be elevated from the water's surface? I'd prefer this over big tubes if it's OK...

Hello, I am starting out with planted aquaria for the first time and am trying to add some plants to my 10-gallon freshwater tank. I selected a few small plants from my local store they had in with guppies. (Their names were listed in Japanese so I could not decipher them.) They were in little...

I am familiar with the nitrogen cycle, nitrate/nitrite level importance and how they relate to the cycling process. However I did not mention them, in favor of pH/alkalinity, since the nitrate/nitrite levels read within safe limits. The only fatality to come of my fishkeeping thus far has been...

Before you start panicking, I returned the Balas last night. They were in with the Danios for not more than 8 hours, I'd estimate. I'm not sure what good photos of my test strips will do if there is no real standard for the colors it indicates, I'm going by its own instructions for my readings...

I had a Ghost Shrimp go unaccounted for in my tank. Bought 5 last week, and found 4 today. As I was adding some plants in I found what was obviously the 'meat' of a shrimp, the size/shape you'd find in a cup of instant ramen. Pink and white, no shell or obvious organs/eyes/other distinguishing...

I['m picking out some plants today so I do anticipate this will increase the likelihood of algae formation. As for the water testing, yes, I did get a test kit. I tested the day I mentioned, looked OK but water was a little hard and the water was slightly basic (~8-8.5 pH) and alkalinity was a...

I added 5 Zebra Danios today, and 2 female guppies. The females now outnumber the males 2:1. They seem to be doing well, the males are chasing the females around quite obviously, so I'd agree they seem to be more in their element at this point. The Balas are going back tomorrow after work. I...

One of the store employees spoke enough English for me to ask him about the Balas, and he said since they were still small I could give them back. At my rquest he even gave me a sufficiently large plastic bag and rubber bands to seal it. I'll probably take out about a half gallon of water (what...

That would be very helpful-- thank you. :) I don't really care if I get my money back, by the way. They were not that expensive.

Well I kept goldfish for close to 2 years and they never got much bigger than the length of my pinky. When put in a 20 gallon they got much bigger, but ONLY then. Basically I want to know if having them in a 10 gallon is going to make the fish unhappy, in which case I'd rather return them...

So basically, am I supposed to show them a picture to get my point across and absolutely get them back to the store or they will grow to the size of grapefruits? Or are they like Goldfish that will grow to a full size that is as long as your forearm if kept in a 100+ gallon tank but in a smaller...

Returning the Balas will probably be difficult. I do not speak the local language (Japanese) and this is more than a little confusing of a store (to give you an idea, they sell aquariums, fish, hamsters, lizards, and they make KEYS and sell LOCKS. This is as confusing to me as I gather it is to...

Hello! I'm new here, obviously. I just set up a 10-gallon tank in my dorm room that I'm growing quite fond of. I haven't put in all the fish I intend to, but I figure it's best to add them gradually. The tank itself: - 10 Gallon 'Marineland' with hinged lid and 2 (25w?) incandescent bulbs -...