Recent content by michmich

I have some questions about adding cholla wood to my tanks. I have two 20 gallon tanks: one has livebearers in it and the other one has mainly tetras. I separated the 2 types of fish so that I could provide the right water parameters for them. We have very soft water in our taps here, so I add...

Fortunately, I already have the tetras in their own 20 gallon tank, so I will be able to treat the water differently for the guppies. At the moment, I don't have many plants in the 20 gallon tank because I am quarantining some of the new ones I bought a couple weeks ago. I had such a bad...

Great! I will collect some shells and crush them up. Thank you. :) Also, would the higher GH combat some of the algae growth in my tanks? I'm finding that the algae grows very comfortably in the softer water.

The fish in our stores all seem to come from Asia - Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan.... you name it. I've literally experienced buying a fish, putting it in perfect parameter water (except the hardness) and having it dart around for 24 hrs and then die. I have oyster shells in both...

Have you never had a sick fish in any of your 11 tanks or do you only treat with heat and salt?

That makes sense. I do have a lot of plants in that tank, so I might as well add it to bring up the GH as well. I have Diamond Tetras in another tank. I've looked up that they do better in softer water. Should I just leave the water as is for them?

Thank you for the detailed info! So, the GH in my guppy tank is super low at 40 ppm. I've ordered the equivalent to the product you recommended which in North America seems to be Seachem Equilibrium. As soon as I have it, I'll start adding it to my tank. Do I use this in addition to the Prime...

I recently became aware that I should be monitoring KH and GH levels for livebearers. Until now, I've been mostly monitoring just the very basics like ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates with my Api master test kit. I live on the West Coast of Canada, and our tap water is generally soft...

The guppy story becomes more fascinating by the minute!! I always read that you need to have 2 - 3 females to one male, but my experience was that the male would harass one female absolutely mercilessly. It was brutal to watch, and it really stressed me out to observe it. Your explanation of...

Thank you, yes, this is extremely helpful! Because the birth of these fish was a complete surprise, I've had to go out and get another tank which is currently cycling. Could you advise me on a timeline? I definitely want to separate the sexes and will likely be giving away some of the fish to...

Thank you! I appreciate your advice so much, and unfortunately, I had run out of options for that platy. Yes, I had figured that it was a part of her intestine. I'm glad she isn't suffering anymore. The other platy is still going. I wasn't so sure about her yesterday, but today, she's looking...

The guppy fry in the 10 gallon tank are doing great so far! :) Speaking of inbreeding, if I keep some of the fry, wouldn't they mate with each other? Is this considered inbreeding in the fish world and if so, at what point would I need to separate the sexes?

This morning when I went to check on the fish in the hospital tank, the sick platy was hiding behind the HOB filter. She has been so listless for the past few days and not eating. You were right about the fungus. When I tried to get her to swim, she rubbed against the plastic plant and the...

I ended up moving the fry to the 10 gallon tank for now. I am treating both the 10 gallon and the hospital tanks with the levamisole and the praziquantel, and the hospital tank was simply getting too crowded. I didn't move the mother guppy as you recommended. Speaking of the platys, they are...

She wasn't done!! Here's a video: