Recent content by tkos

The amount of tannins coming from driftwood is small, just enough to colour your water. It shouldn't have a major effect on your pH. My tank is 7.4 with a KH that is non existent. After a week it is 7.4. Other biological activities probably lead to your pH drops.

Yeah, often by the time the swelling is really evident, it is too late to treat. I will often move a sick fish to a qt and watch it for a few days with fresh water changes and food soaked in garlic (stimulates appatite). If it gets worse then I usually put them down.

The XP3 might be a lot cheaper. It might not be quite as good (I don't run one myself) but many people swear by them for ease of use.

If you want epoxy in the future try a Marine grade epoxy putty. That stuff is awsome, though it is not flexible when dry. Glad to hear you could get away without using it though.

Mollies can be acclimated. Guppies can be acclimated to brackish.

Short term salt is not a problem. It is only long term that it is bad. The plants probably won't do well. But they probably won't do well with lots of meds either.

Rena makes a good canister as well. If possible I would take the canister out of the box at the store and see how easy it is to access the media inside. I have a Fluval 304. Whileit is a perfectly fine filter, it can be a bit of a pain to reattach the top on it and get it seated correctly.

If you are thinking of UGF then I seriosly suggest you look at RUGF which is a spectacular filter. Though if you have Africans you may wish to have a sand base for them in the future, in which case the UGF / RUGF is a no go. A canister is a very good filtration source.

If possible I would run a long flexible brush through the tubing. I just did that on my fluval 304 and it made a world of difference. A bit of a pain to clean but the only filter I have ever used. I did break the blue outside clip on mine and had to buy a replacement. My fault, I pressed way...

Well with clove oil you can sedate a fish and then try to remove the stone. I don't know what sort of dose you would need for such a small fish. Clove oil will also kill a fish at elevated levels (and is good for euthanizing). Of course you would have to sedate the fish outside of the tank so...

I would say that this is a very sick fish and probably the best option is to euthanize. There are many ways to humainly do that. It could be a tumour in the throat quite easily. But if this has been going on that long I would suggest that it isn't going to get better. Has she gotten thinner yet...

I have personally found that bettas that come from small cups in fish stores take awhile to adapt to a tank with a current. Their swimming muscles need to adpat. I usually just make sure there are spots in the tank with low current. The fish can then choose to avoid those spots. Within days they...

I would suggest 2 filters as well, at either end of the tank. I run a canister and HOB on my 29 gallon and like the extra water flow and lack of dead spots. I would suggest teh Aquaclears and get the biggest you can afford. Properly cleaned they shoudl give plenty of decent filtration and current.

Your tank looks pretty stocked at the moment or will be when fish are full size. I would not add more fish. I agree, feed less food and pick them out. Add a piece of veggie to the tank at night. Generally it will be covered with snails in the morning. Easy to pick out. A good gravel vacuum will...

I use the mag float for a quick job during the week. If it is heavy buildup I use the algae pad during water changes when I don't mind getting into the tank. If done frequently it should get to be too bad.