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Sounds to me like you are in the wrong place. You will find that most of the members here are pretty die-hard fish care advocates - they wouldn't think of trimming fins any more than you would think of giving your dog a boob-job, and consider it mistreatment. If you are trying to convince...

Do a bit of research into Customs first. Sending plants across the border may be an issue if any of them are on an embargo list in Canada. Also, there are frequently delays in clearing mail from the States.

Cherry barbs are great community fish, as are most tetras (of course). I really like Pristella and Rosey tetras. My wife likes Congos and Columbians. Skip the tigers, especially if you are putting angels in. 6 would be a hard minimum to try to control their nipping, and if any die you need to...

I never found my XP's that hard to prime, but if I had to fill the cannister by hand, I would fill it with a bucket/glass, then install it and prime the tubing with the funnel. Regarding the air inside, try this: Unplug the power then release ONE of the latches. The air will be forced out as...

Personally, I don't worry too much about the low side reading, as long as I am getting the bubble rate I want.

I saw something similar with my wife's Congo Tetras a while back. We had been very busy (and out of town a lot) for several weeks, so we hadn't done a water change in a while. Unfortunately, we then performed the normal 70% change without testing the parameters first. ALL of her Congos died...

I frequently get a lot of air trapped in one of my XP2's (it has a skimmer intake). The simple fix is to unplug the filter and release ONE of the latches holding the top on. The air will escape, replaced by water from the hoses. Once the body is full again (you might get a trickle of water)...

More and/or bigger holes on the existing spraybar will also help. While it won't change the flow rate, it will reduce the force of the output from the individual holes. I've heard of some people offsetting a second row of holes (i.e. they don't point in the same direction). That could help...

I used Hydor 300's on all the tanks that have cannister filters. I put 2 on my 110G (2 filters, a heater on each) and one on my 55. They are MUCH more stable and reliable than in-the-tank units have been, at least in my tanks.

My wife has schools of Congo and Red & Blue Columbian tetras in her 55. They have grown nicely, and school reasonably well. But they also spend quite a bit of time spread all over the tank, too. Just remember that fish that are happy and secure school less - don't expect miracles as far as...

Worst advice ever. If you "just do it", then you are exposing yourself to HUGE liability claims. Eviction would be the least of your worries. Structural damage, damage to the units below you, damage to the possessions in the units below you, charges due to the "loss of use" to the damaged units...

I'm pretty sure he said that the dwarf corries might not be best for a 55, not corries in general.

You can't trust other people's experiences, because they weren't in your building, and you have no idea how their apartments were built. With a 125, if you can't guarantee that you are perpendicular to the joists against a load bearing wall, then you shouldn't set it up. The exception would be...

I have my angels in with schools of Cherry Barbs, Pristella and Rosey Tetras and Raspbora Hets, as well as corries and a BN Pleco. They all seem to be doing quite well together.

It's not aggressive chasing, just playful - they never nip. Think 19 year old male in a pick-up bar. Every girl is a potential target, and all the guys are competition to be warned off. I think it helps that I have a couple more females than males, and they are happy enough to have spawned twice...

Sorry I forgot to mention it - they have been in the tank for 2 weeks now. Thanks for the advice - I never really thought of angels as veggie lovers. Any veggies in particular? Haven't done any peas in a while, so I could start with those (still have plenty). I have to admit I'm overfeeding the...

I second the Cherry barb recommendation. They are lively and personable little fish, and while they enjoy chasing each other, mine have left everyone else alone. If you can find any, take a look at Rosey tetras. Mine have aged beautifully, and their displays are really quite nice. I haven't...

Aging the water _used_ to be a good way to dechlorinate. Chlorine is unstable and will detoxify within about 24 hours. That's why the water companies have switched to Chloramine - it's much more stable, and won't detoxify naturally in any reasonable time-period (weeks at least). Other than...

I'll second skipping the tigers, no matter what else you stock. If you can maintain a large enough school they will _usually_ just play with each other, but the aggression will still spill over onto the other occupants. The big problem starts when some of them die. That's when they really start...

I recently added 3 angels to my 110, and I'm having a devil of a time getting 2 of them to eat. One isn't a problem - it follows me around when I'm near the tank, and gets right into the scrum when the food drops. Another seems to want to eat, but doesn't seem to "get it". It's a bit shy, but...

Specifically, pagoda rock (or similar). My wife wants to do some hardscaping with pagoda, but we haven't been able to find a good local source. We picked them pretty clean last year, and they still haven't gotten more. Hate to order it and pay shipping for rock, but frankly the prices that the...

I could see the power head working a lot better than the air stone. The problem with running an air stone through media, as opposed to just in a water column, is the issue of "vapor lock". You could easily pump more air volume into the tube than the filter media could pass, causing the air to...

Just wanted to let you know that an XP3 probably isn't big enough for getting good flow in a 130. I'm running an XP3 and an XP2 in my 110, and it's just adequate. Otherwise, enjoy! And make sure your floor can support that sucker.

I just painted a 55 this week. Used Krylon Medium Blue, and it took less than 1 can to get good coverage. Unfortunately, my clumsy helper scraped a big patch off the back as we were putting the tank back in place, so I have to fix it this weekend.

Also, you can buy the plastic used for the hinge and back (where you make cutouts for equipment) from Drs Foster&Smith. They come in 6 foot sections, so you can make parts for several tanks. A bit expensive with shipping unless you are placing a larger order, though. Here's the link...