Recent content by jdsunflower

corys and cover One thing that hasn't been touched on much is the environment... My 40B tank has a number of mid-level swimmers, as well as albino bristlenose (2 females, they avoid each other), 5 panda corys, 2 older corys (can't recall the name--a bit bigger than peppered ones) and 4 peppered...

floating driftwood I find that boiling the wood is also helpful to make it more likely to sink, perhaps because it forces it to absorb water more quickly? JD

thanks to both of you for those very prompt replies... light bulbs are F30T8 36" (2) in one, two-light box with ballast E232Z12-5 (apparently discontinued--hope this won't be a problem but I'll face it when I get to it). There does appear to be a (n imagined?) subtle darkish band around both...

Happily doing well lately with my bogwood-catfish-planted tank hobby, thanks to many helpful bits of information on this site... New issue; Being very low-tech and somewhat afraid of electricity+water, I'd really appreciate others' opinions... I bought a 40breeder tank (brand new) in July...

thank you for that--the level of detail is extremely helpful. I have yet to decide--I do love the softwater fish the best...(figures)! Monique

thanks for that I really like the idea of keeping a small fish pop there and think I'll go with that... jd

thank you, JD

Hi, Silly question here...If you don't have fish in QT do you keep the tank up and running to preserve the cycle, etc? I guess the bacteria would die without food, so...it sounds like a lot of trouble...I otherwise have a 40B cycled tank with fish and plants... thanks, JD

excellent thanks. It's a bit tricky because the pH is high but the hardness is below 2, so soft but alkaline.... but it's reassuring to know that they can acclimate to this. JD

I love the mix of harlequins and a large 'herd' of corys (5 to 7), in that the corys are total busy-bodies that are all over the tank in a funny 'let's check that out over there, guys!' kind of way. It's a nice mix with the more fragile, nervous and dignified-seeming behaviour of the harlequins...

that's very informative, thank you. Monique

thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into that. Monique

The price is indeed quite reasonable. Do you have to have access to a separate water tap for this, as it sounds like it goes for hours? I am in a tiny condo, so only have sink and bathroom taps, for instance.

Hi, I'm a relative newbie, but if you have corys, mine enjoy the eggs laid on leaves as a snack. They don't seem to hunt them, tho, just opportunistic grazing. As for removing eggs by hand, I've found a turkey baster (or syringe without the needle) to work well as it suctions everything in a...

:-? For everyone who's helped with advice for me in the past, just a quick update re Ottawa (canada) tapwater pH according to the city management: raised to 8.4 via caustic soda to reduce lead leaching into the water due to lead pipes. My question is: is 8.4 reasonable for keeping acid-pool...