Recent content by Maillis

Full tank pics here

He should eat just about anything, mix it up with different fresh/frozen foods (bloodworms, brine shrimp, etc) and a quality flake food.

Good suggestion... not sure how I overlooked that option :?

I haven't had a chance to try this but you could try attaching java moss to some of that plastic cross-stitch stuff (I'm not sure what it's called exactly but it's basically a plastic grid) and weighing it to the bottom.

Let the parents raise them. Put a stocking or spong over the filter intake too so none of them get sucked up. Also, you may want to consider feeding them some sort of fry food like Hikari First Bites to make sure they are getting enough to eat.

Ottos do fine with a little salt (1 tbsp per 5g) as do most fish (even scaleless). Just don't add all the salt at once, i'd gradually bring up the salinity by adding half the salt one day and add the other half the next just to ease the transition.

I wouldn't do guppies because they will breed and lead to problems but you could do something like 5 neons and 3 pygmy cory cats but not more than that.

I've never noticed this behavior in my plecos but it sounds like he's flushing out his gills or something. Could be a sign or irritation but probably nothing to be worried about unless he does it all the time.

The elmers site is a good "guide" except it doesn't really give you any recommended stocking numbers, it just lists about a hundred different species for each type of tank setup and sort of implies that you can put one of each into any size tank over their recommended minimum and everything will...

Um i don't see how Pimafix would help treat a parasitic infection like ich, it's an anti-fungal medication. Oh and just because something is all natural doesn't mean it can't harm anything, it's actually a carcinogen if you check the label.

HMm the fry look like convicts but it's not unusual for the fry of some species to look different than the mature adults. What kind of fish did your friend have? That would help narrow it down. Edit: Hmm from your post it seems like you don't know what the adult fish are either, is that right?

This behavior is pretty normal, I keep 2 pairs in a 20 gallon high and they squabble over territory all the time (more when they have eggs, less when they don't) but they never hurt each other and usually retreat back onto their own side of the tank after a little facing off and nudging. It...

Do you have a petco or petsmart near you? If you do I'd go there and pick up a broad spectrum antibiotic like kanamycin or if you can't find that get some Maracyn, it's probably your best bet at this point.

Also make sure the temperature of the water you are adding to the tank is about the same as the temperature of the water in the tank (fiddle with the hot and cold knobs until you get it right), swings in temperature can really do a number on fish since they are cold blooded.