Recent content by kellyinvancouver

Just a suggestion, some hardy dwarf shrimp like cherries or even ghosts would also be suitable for a coldwater tank, as would snails.

Giving birth will sometimes cause an internal rupture or a prolapse of the anus or uterus. Livebearers have pretty big fry so this is not unheard of.

I have to agree with those who don't see harm in lead. I use lead weights in my aquarium with no consequences. As for the plastic bag idea, yeah, I would be a lot more worried about any (unlikely, I might add) chemicals leaching from the plastic bag into the tank.

Whoa! I have to step in her and say that you can NOT treat gouramis like bettas! You cannot even treat bettas like bettas if your idea of caring for a betta is putting it in a bowl without heat! Bettas are tropical fish who NEED NEED NEED the same care as any other fish: heat, a decent-sized...

Grr I know! I got a pair from my LFS the first go round and suprise-suprise, the female is dead within the week. So I told them the story and that I thought it was stress, so they replaced the female and I bought an extra, even though they only sold them in pairs. I think the only reason they do...

The feeler will grow back eventually. It won't affect her breeding. Color change (espescially silver, IME) indicates stress. She is being harassed too much by the male gourami. You need to get 1 or 2 more females. Male DGs are real wifebeaters... I have had females die from stress in 1:1 and...

Lots of water changes, plants will help too. Monitor the water stats (get a good testing kit) and change the water as needed based on the results. A high capacity filter or even an extra filter will help. Honestly, the inch per gallon rule is highly subjective. More of a guideline than anything...

Another thing you could do as a desperate measure is house the temporarily in a large rubbermaid tub or even the bathtub! You obviously won't be needing a heater and with a rubbermaid tub you can at least purchase a filter that you can move to a bigger tank when you can afford one.

Probably my biggest question is what are you keeping with these bettas? Bettas aren't too quick and its very possible that they are being harassed. Even little guys like danios can do a fish in, given the right circumstances.

UPDATE Added 3 zebra nerite snails (Maureen Tucker, Brian Cale and Sterling Morrison) to keep Lou Reed company and scrape algae. Also, I modified the hardscape... I will post a pic later.

Mhmmm! I love them for small tanks... Hagen makes one for $7 CDN... pumps are 15, gang valves are 3, then BAM you're filtering 3 tanks for 25 bucks :D

I too keep my quarantine HN1-style, with a sponge filter... carbon filtration will remove medications: don't make this mistake! I also use a rubbermaid tub, because they are cheap, and I won't be tempted to plant it :)

Your problem might be harassment... Danios and Tetras are both specie sthat should generally be kept in groups of NO LESS than 6, the reason being that they are shoaling fish who nip each other to socialise and establish a primitive 'hierarchy'. When kept in small groups, these fish turn...

The only things I would suggest that I haven't seen on care sheets are a) Outnumber the males with females. I have had females die of stress, even with a 1:1 ratio b) Get floaters for bubblenesting. I strongly, strongly reccomend salvinia. The gouramis LOVE it because it holds the bubbles...

Zer0 is somewhat right, however he MAY improve with a little TLC... a) Quarantine him in a decent-sized tank/bucket/tub etc WITH a heater and a sponge filter (or any gentle filter without carbon- carbon removes medications from the water). He is better off quarantined to ease stress and reduce...