Recent content by Goof

What's wrong with barbs? I find charry barbs to be a good fish, can live in non aggressive tanks and semi aggressive, and quite hardy. mine don't really school. But I've ran into a new hybrid of barbs I'm contemplating for my 54g, Round Banded Barb that schools but might be a bit big for your...

Do you recall who made the tank you have?

The bigger the tank the better for the betta, and easier for the owner. But a 3g filtered aquarium will suit it fine. Most small tank heaters, like the ones for bettas, don't turn on/off, they stay on and may have a safety feature if it goes to hot it breaks. The 15-Watt Aquatop Nano Aquarium...

Healthy well fed fish should be fine for 3-5 days w/o food. If just a weekend I dont worrie about it, if a week I use one of those dissolving weekend feeders. You also only have 3 fish in a 10g. I'd just use one of those weekend feeders for the betta and leave some veggie for the otto's.

I don't know of any way to test bacteria other than how healthy tank is and knowing how the cycle works. Poop & gunk = Ammonia -> Bacteria #1 -> Nitrite -> Bacteria #2 -> Nitrate From there most people rely on water changes, as nitrate isn't as harmful, but there is also Plants (including...

That "algae" is a PITA to deal with but loves nutrient rich environments with lower current with low oxygen. It can also use light that other plants do not like so having proper lighting that works better for plants to help out compete for the nutrients. This in your tank, what size, filter...

I know its different from what you'r suggesting but I really like Aqueon QuietFlow and having a sponge as a prefilter and forcing 3 bioballs on the out ramp. My cherry shrimp spend 1/2 of their time on the sponge prefilter and the bioballs break up the current. I use the Aqueon QuietFlow 30...

It's been about 1.5 year of using Black Beauty(coal slag) in a 40 gallon with shrimp, betta's, platties, snails, and some plants. Both male betta's fins are a bit chewed up (its got a divider keeping them separate) It could be the fake plant, or the slightly more rough substrate. Females...

So, I'm starting to use Black Beauty(coal slag), after washing the crap out of it. Moved over a sponge filter and a couple fish, etc. In all the pics I see, I see a nice solid dark substrate, but mine isn't. Does yours have little glass/amber looking grains it it? Also, what I have does...

I have a 20g tank with a couple of plants that I want to change to a more planted tank that I am hoping to get advice/help on. I want a kind of want a jungle overgrowth look and feel.(not biotope) To start with, I have hard water, and no plans for doing things like adding CO2. Find with...

Oh and how many years have you been using black beauty as a substrate?

You're posting because you don't think your tank/shrimp are fine. Knowing your water parameters is better than saying it must be fine because nothing has died yet. A test kit is important, but you can start off buying the cheaper, short run, test strips. Wallmart has them for like ~$12, which...

Flourite Black Sand Aluminum 50.28% Barium 0.03% Calcium 31.43% Cobalt 0.01% Chromium 0.01% Copper 0.03% Iron 6.51% Potassium 0.56% Magnesium 2.80% Manganese 0.08% Sodium 8.23% Nickel 0.01% Vanadium 0.02% Zinc 0.01% Black beauty sand (typical) Silicon Dioxide 48.78% Aluminum Oxide 20.97%...

Thanks for the reply mikem691, any other reason you hated it? Did you replace it with another black substrate? what? I know with normal sand, containing iron is typically a bad thing, never hear of that with this (or black diamond) as it's inert, and or tied up where dissolving/leaching into...

Who here has used Black beauty (coal slag blasting sand) as aquarium substrate? I see more talk of people using black diamond on the net, but getting 1 bag of that(20-40) and 2 bags of black beauty, the black diamond is dirtier and has sharp pieces and slivers. Not sure if diff quality and...