Recent content by fearlessfisch

k5mow, LOVE to hear about new tanks--maybe post a picture! Jake, such a wonderful apistogramma with her babies! I never even considered an apisto before, but I adopted one a few weeks ago from someone who was moving out of the area. I am in love! Such a smart, sociable little fish. She...

Autumn, how exciting about the pencilfish! I have a bit of BBA right now--plan to do a rescape soon and start that battle. New betta sounds very pretty--like a creamsicle.

I ordered pool filter sand yesterday. I finally will have some time to change out all my substrate. I have had play sand in all three major tanks for a while now, and it was a huge mistake. It looked pretty at the outset, but it's too fine and compacts too much. Compared to my previous...

I love the turtle enjoying his independence!

That's a beautiful tank.

Congratulations on the new tank! I started keeping fish back in the 1970s and remember when we used to just dump them in and hope for the best. We know a lot more now, luckily for the fish! On the very slim chance that you are located in the DC area, there is someone on Craigslist who has...

Thanks, Autumn. It was very sad when it happened. Thanks again for this fun article.

Very cool jungle! The fish seem happy. :fish2:

I love this! I am sure fish are tremendously underestimated in what they think and feel. I am fascinated by fish intelligence. I know I've written here a million times about my aquabridge between two tanks and how I consider it a measure of a type of intelligence. I am convinced, for...

Hi, all, I haven't posted here in awhile, but am so proud of one of my neons today that I had to share this story. As I posted a while back, I built an aquabridge to use between two 29-gallon tanks...

Hi, Echoing the other advice...Don't use soap again! Also, make sure not to overclean your filter. Cycling means growing the population of good bacteria Aiken Drum was talking about, so that your fish aren't poisoned by their own waste. That bacteria grows on surfaces in the tank and...

With the fish you are considering, I would go larger than 20 gallons. Buy the biggest tank you can afford, and you won't regret it. Bristlenose plecos get to be six inches long, black skirts are fairly large tetras, and serpaes need a lot of swimming room. I would go 30 at the smallest and...

If you were cycling that recently, it doesn't surprise me that you are still dealing with diatoms. You probably just need to be patient. Once your cycle is complete and the tank has settled a bit, they will likely subside. It sometimes does take months before they are gone. Another thing...

Update: I am starting a trial of Flourish Excel. I've used it in the past, but that was when I had a smaller variety of plants in my tanks, and they seemed to do fine when I discontinued it. Maybe the stopping is catching up with me, though... If this does not work, I may proceed to a...

I don't think a powerhead is necessary as long as you aren't seeing signs of problems with low circulation. The HOB filters on my 30-gallon tanks seem to provide some splash at the top and circulate the water pretty well. I do have an airstone in one of the tanks to help with circulation and...