Recent content by ZakTheRipper

Yeah, I knew that if he ever grew much larger than he is now I would be getting rid of him. What kind of moron would keep a fish that can't even physically fit in the tank without being in a curved position? A foot is obviously far too big for a pleco in a 20 gallon

Yeah, I know all about the potential growth these guys have. I'm going to be selling them to the lfs for store credit, and probably getting some shell dwellers and maybe some small loaches. I haven't decided exactly what yet, but definitely smaller fish that are suited to a small tank...

1) I think the common pleco MIGHT have something 2) NH3: 0 NO2: 0 NO3: 10-15 ppm pH: 7.1-7.2 temp: gH: ~2.5 3) 20 gallon, been set up for about a year 4) Penguin Marineland (or is it Marineland Penguin?) Biowheel 150 with filter sponges (no carbon). 150 gph. 5)...

My common pleco looks slightly strange. She had some fin rot a few weeks ago, which I treated with melafix. However, I'm not sure if she's sick with something else now. She has random streaks over a good portion of her body where her color is lighter, as if the color was somewhat bleached...

I've got a 20 gallon planted tank with driftwood; an oscar and a common pleco reside in it. I'm thinking of doing a cash + trade at the lfs for some type of loach and african cihclid. does anyone recommend particular species of each that will be good together, ones that will stay relatively...

I use some Kent freshwater pro-plant (1-0-0) and Seachem's Flourish Supplement (Fe, Ca, Mg and 0.7-0.01-0.37). Am I not getting enough of the macronutrients, or is this sufficient? My plants are all looking rather unhealthy (about half the leaves are browned or have a loss of pigment). They...

kH of tap water is 5 dH I also noticed some of the leaves on my plants have lost their pigment compeltely in spots. I trimmed away the dead or dying leaves and left only the healthy ones.

thanks, i'll be getting on this right away. I doubt my gH is particularly low though. I have those chalky, I'm assuming calcium, buildups on part of the plastic rim of the tank and the filter. My plants are also not looking particularly healthy, but I'm not sure why. I give them ferts for...

Awesome, I will follow this procedure. The pH Stable stuff I have is supposed to raise kH, so I'll use that rather than baking soda. The pH reading was at night, a couple hours after the lights went off, and I only have them on for 8 hours now. I don't think lack of calcium is a problem--my...

I just checked my tank, and I am happy to see the following values: NH3=0 ppm NO2=~.7 ppm NO3=~80 ppm pH=~6.1 kH<1 (probably very close to zero) Water is still a disgusting pea soup green with some cloudiness. Is a pwc recommended at this point, and if so, by what % and should I gravel vac at...

What I don't understand is that how is my bioload somehow too great? I had no trouble keeping the tank clear prior to adding the driftwood, plants, substrate, CO2, and pc light. My tank should have re-cycled again by now, and yet the ammonia and nitrate levels remain very high, despite...

I definitely don't think the fish is in any risk of growing deformed yet, as there's still plenty of space for him to navigate the tank, turn around, etc. I will only be selling him to a reputable fish store that I regularly shop at. Obviously, I can't control who buys him unless I found a...

Well yeah, obviously a full-grown oscar that can barely turn around in the tank would be wrong. But he's nowhere near that big at this point. He's only about 4" long now.

I don't understand what is so horrible aboput keeping an oscar by itself (except whenever feeders are added) in a 20 gallon.

You're probably right. My oscar and pleco are both getting big, the pleco is definitely too big for a 20 gallon. I'm gonna give the pleco to the lfs for store credit tmrw. We'll see about the oscar, but I'm thinking I'll give him away too and once my tank is looking nice again I'll make it a...