Recent content by MartyMA

I have used microworms and grindal worms.

Plastic wrap The original question was a simple one - my solution is glass top for starters and a if you have an HOB filter, stretching a piece of plastic wrap over it. I do this to keep the amano shrimp from taking a walk but it also cuts down on evaporation significantly.

I would suggest New Life Spectrum Optimum. This is a high quality flake that is good for a community tank.

Added three new angelfish to my 60 gallon. Two platinums and a koi. All small. Joining a dwindling endler community and a few dwarf africans. Oh, and one medium sized koi angel who was most unhappy to see the new arrivals. LOL

Merry, Merry to you!! To answer your question - a guess would be three weeks? A guess is not as good as a test, however. If you are crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, go with three weeks. Short of testing your numbers, seeding will give you a big head start.

Since you are in a deep freeze right how, I would keep it in the garage. Three pounds is a lot of flake. Without knowing your feeding routine, maybe incorporating a bit each day into whatever you use. I often crush flake and add to decapped brine shrimp. My nanos and fry love this combo. I...

Real, real, real....keep fake stuff to a minimum. You will be more satisfied with the result. BTW, Chiclid ism's driftwood is perfection. Also - some of us (me) actually like the tannin leaching into the water.

C'mon now. You have to have some idea about a tank size. Okay....depending on your dedication to our hobby, maybe a 20g would be the next step up. I think bigger is always better, however. If you can afford the initial cost and have enough space, a 55 or larger would be my suggestion. Start...

White worms are a great food for most tropical fish. As a rule, any fish will try to ingest anything moving that it can fit in it's mouth. White worms prefer a cool/cold for keeping. Grindal worms are very different. Much smaller and need warm conditions if you want to keep for fish feeding...

I own a large colony of black bar endlers. Not the least bit fussy about food or water conditions. They will breed continually. They are smaller than guppies generally and pregnant females do not usually get big and bloated like guppies. I literally see new babies every day. I do not keep...

I bet that the little 'shrimp' in your tank are not shrimp at all. They are probably scuds, a type of crustacean common to both fresh and salt water. They are harmless and will most likely be eaten by any fish that can find them. Google 'gammarus' for more information.

There could be a few reasons why your zebra nerite snails have died. There is no way to know how old they were when you bought them. Maybe at the end of their lives? Nerite snails need algae to eat and plenty of it. If your tank does not have at least some algae in it or you feed algae...

I use indian almond leaves to gently lower the ph. Peat moss also works. A ph of 7.6 is not a problem at all for most tropical fishes. Any radical changes to ph in such small tanks can cause problems. I would leave well enough alone.

If it cleaned up completely in a few minutes, it couldn't have been too dirty. If you feel like it is finished, start the soaking process. You will definitely have to be patient during this phase. No sense going through the trouble of recharging and then poisoning your fish with residual bleach.

I have both light colored pool filter sand and black diamond blasting sand in all but one of my tanks. I like them both and have never had an issue with water quality with either. I prefer light colored sand myself since it looks more natural to my eyes. Whatever you choose, I bet you will...