Recent content by John-K

You can get some battery powered air pumps (Petsmart carries them) and use them for water circulation. They use D cells and some can run a whole day on a pair of batteries. If you have a gas stove or a camping stove, use it to heat water. Put the hot water into a bottle and float it in your...

The only sure way is to see if they have male or female equipment. When they are very young it's impossible. But when they get older, around 2+ inches, then you can usually tell them apart. Of course, you would need access to a store that has older fish in stock and know what to look for...

That's a female, the breeding tube is quite visible and that's really the only sure-fire way to tell. I finally found two females for my boys a week ago after spending way too much time in fish stores staring at their...umm...parts. If your other is a male, they may be pairing up. If the...

I'm not suggesting anything below their acceptable parameters. I've seen studies showing a huge drop in aggression with only a 3 degree temperature drop. So if the tank is at 80, going to 75-76 would be fine.

What temperature is your tank? Fish tend to be a lot more active and aggressive at higher temperatures so you could try lowering it down, even a few degrees can help. Also, you could get a tank divider and keep her separate from the other fish. I've had fish that were complete psychos at first...

You could try twin-tube glass lids. The front part is narrower, so it can open with wider light fixtures: Aquarium Hoods & Canopies: All-Glass Twin-Tube Versa-Tops Or you can just replace the glass on your existing lids, making the front piece narrower. You can get pieces cut at a glass shop or...