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I agree about the sand 100%. IME the dark substrate can make some fish darker and the lighter substrate can make some fish lighter. However, it seems to me like this is more a function of stress in general - when they are stressed, they will lighten or darken as a safety measure. Here is...

Fist thing with rams - get GOOD stock. It can really be difficult because many of the fish are injected with hormones to make they color up fast - prettier fish sell. You best bet is to find a private breeder. Second - they like WARM water, as in the mid 80's. Not many fish like such warm...

Oh good :)

I have 2 ADFs in a 10 gallon and they constantly hunt and harass any fish I put in there with them that is slower and goes near the bottom.

In your tank, you could add corys or loaches or possibly both. Kuhli loaches and corys would make good scavengers in the tank, though its always best to feed scavengers too. Or, you could get some larger loaches like zebras or angelicus. I'd say a 55 is large enough for 2 groups of small...

I'd get the smallest schooling fish you can find so you can fit an appropriately sized school in the tank.

The 3 different brands of pool filter sand I have are all the coarsest of the 6 different sands I have. The other 3 are aquarium specific sands.

Some beggars CAN be choosers :)

Oh, it doesn't affect pH or hardness though, right?

Small, peaceful and sedate ones :) Small tanks don't mix with big, aggressive, active fish.

A 29 is on the edge - there are still breakdowns in the school from time to time, but its not nearly as bad or as often as in a smaller tank. The bigger the tank, the less problems there generally are. Since I've moved mine from a 29 to a 55, I have not had any missing fins or fish ejected...

IME this is not a solution. This seems to be a generic response that people regurgitate. The immediate problem is the 10 gallon tank. There is nothing you can do to alleviate aggression in this situation, as they tank is way too small for them. A 29 gallon is the absolute minimum needed for...

I don't use any salt in freshwater tanks either. Whether it's "good" for the fish largely depends on the type of fish.

That is true, all you have is shades of natural colors with PFS. There are many variables involving algae that I think it would be hard to point to the sand as a culprit. I mean, it's inert. Just the other day I remember someone thinking that their tahitian moon sand was responsible for the...

Migrating to brackish water to escape freshwater predators only makes them targets for brackish water predators. There will ALWAYS be predators trying to eat them, no matter where they live. Predation is unavoidable, which is why I said it was a weak point.

Looks like all the posts didn't make it to the new thread. Someone else had made the comment about them being sparsely found in brackish water. As I originally said, I don't profess to know where they are found since I don't care. I was making a case based on logic and reasoning - if they...

Pool filter sand is a uniform silica sand and it doesn't have any of those problems either. I've used 3 different brands to date and they are all good. I've also used a few of the caribsea supernaturals sands. I rank them sunset gold, TMS, and moonlight sand. Sunset gold is very soft and yet...

I am curious what my nitrates are, though.

Yes, old tank syndrome is something to look out for. I change at least 50% of the water every week - more in the heavier stocked tanks. Every so often I do an 80% change. It's not that I don't think it's important to test the water, I just think it's more important to have a good maintenance...

The fish demonstrate great growth and color, behave normally and have never been sick. It's been working well for several years, so I'm going to keep doing what works. I do clean the mechanical media regularly - just not as frequently as some of you do.

No, I don't need a test kit. My tanks are all well established and healthy. From what I've seen, most people with tanks that have been running for years do not test them unless there's a problem. Excellent filtration, large regular water changes, compatible stock and feeding a high quality...

Maybe the next tank I get will come with a test kit...

You know you can edit your posts to include afterthoughts?

Well, I suppose if I didn't have 2 canisters per tank (each one could support the tank) I would have to clean it twice as often.

Must be all the enzymes you feed them. I don't profess to know about their natural habitat, because I don't really care. Someone else stated that they are sparsely found in brackish water. Logic and reasoning would dictate that if they are rarely found somewhere, then that must not be where...