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I have a small (6-gallon Eclipse System 6) tank with Neon Tetra disease. 4/5 of my Neon Tetras have died of it, and while the 5th is showing no signs, I'm sure its just a matter of time before it show symptoms and will have to be euthanized (the clove oil method works well for me). This tank...

How do you all keep your Hornwort clean and tidy? Mine catches every bit of gunk (floating bits of plant, bits of food, etc.) in the tank... It also seems a favorite place for algae to grow, but this is a lesser issue. In the past, I'd tank it all out every week or two and clean it in the...

I'm thinking of setting up a spare 20L as a shrimp breeding tank, for probably Red Cherry Shrimp and Amano Shrimp. What types of plants (and thus lighting) are ideal? Should I have a substrate (i.e., Eco-Complete) or go with a bare bottom? Should I avoid fish altogether, or are there some...

I recently got 6 Amano Shrimp for my 38-gallon well-planted freshwater tank (~14 Zebra Danios, ~10 Corydoras catfish (2 breeding females), 7 Otocinclus catfish, 2 "Botia Salwnsis" loaches, 1 Cleaner shrimp, and now 6 Amano Shrimp). I really like them, and they're doing a great job "mowing" my...

About a week ago, I began to notice TINY little white critters in my Eclipse System 6 (6-gallon) freshwater tank. They are barely visible and so are too small to photograph well. I'll try to get a shot of them later with my digital microscope. In addition to being extremely small and whitish in...

I have a Penguin 150 BIO-Wheel power filter in my 20L Freshwater planted aquarium (set up in early June 2006). At first it worked great, but now the BIO-Wheel is stopping for no apparant reason. Cleaning/replacing the filter cartridge and cleaning the filter intake tube sometimes helps, but...

I recent had a 23-hour power failure (Ernesto did a lot of damage to my area in southern Maryland) and lost NO fish. :) My first line of defense was APC SmartUPS 700s on my three tanks, which gave them runtime of 2.5+ hours (powering just filters/powerheads) or about 2 hours (powering heaters...

Over the past month or so, I've COMPLETELY overhauled my 38-gallon tank. I replaced the lights, removed the undergravel filter, replaced the gravel with Eco-Complete, added a ton of new driftwood, and (just yesterday) added a number of new plants! (Overhauled tank; click to see the large...

I was watching the fish in my 38-gallon aquarium a short while ago, and I saw my Otocinclus catfish laying eggs! It was amazing to see it actually happen! The female was vigorously cleaning an Aponogeton leaf, then sat on it. the male came up and sort of wrapped around her head so that he was...

I know that aeration is bad for tanks with CO2 injection systems, but is it also bad if I just dose Excel? I doubt aeration affects Excel, but wanted to double-check here...

I recently ordered a nice selection of Swahala and Malaysian driftwood from Drs. Foster and Smith, and the pieces arrived today. They sent me a terrific variety in terms of coloration, overall size, and shape/geometry. I'm very pleased! In the past, I've used driftwood sparingly but had a fair...

I recently upgraded my 38-gallon tank with a 96-watt Coralife lighting fixture. I'm replacing its substrate with Eco-Complete this weekend (removing and discarding its current UGF), and have 2 liters of Flourish Excel on hand, as well as several other fertilizers (chelated iron, etc.). I have a...

My Aponogetons are producing floating runners that are flowering and budding, producing roots and robust-looking plantlets! How large should they get before I snip them off and plant them? Pictures (click for BIG version): View from above (Aponogeton (and Nymphaea maculata), the inside top of...

My local fish stores have a poor selection of aquatic plants, which are sometime unhealthy and rarely thriving. Most are low-light plants, and some mix non-aquatic plants into their selections, making buying from them tricky... I've been looking to purchase some online, but I don't know what...

I'm going to be replacing the gravel in my 38-gallon (moderate-to-high light) tank with Eco-Complete next weekend. I will have three 20lb bags, but probably won't use all of it. Given the cost, I would like to save what I don't use. But I know it comes in a live bacteria liquid, and I'm not...

I just added new lights to my 38-gallon (36" long x 12" deep x 20" tall) tank, but after reading a LOT here and starting to read my new book "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist, Second Edition" (which is terrific), I've decided to...

My 38-gallon tank has been doing well. Its a low-light tank, and my plants have been doing okay, but are growing slowly. Well, after researching it I know why... Not only is my (single) flourescent light about 10 years old (with 4 years in daily use), but it is only (as far as I can tell) 18...

I've been looking for aquarium management software to run on my PowerMac G5, and I've found Maquarium. It looks good, but I was wondering if any Mac users here have any real-life experience with it, or similar Mac OS X software?

I've been taking a fair number of pictures of my tanks and my fish lately, probably 1-3 dozen a week. I have to use a flash to get the photos to come out well, as my camera doesn't take good photos in low light conditions. Does flash photography hurt fish? I assume it annoys them a bit, but...

I just bought 1 "cleaner" shrimp (which appears to be a flower shrimp), about 2" to 2.5" long, for my 38-gallon tank. I also bought 3 tiny (1/3" to 1/2") Ghost Shrimp for my Eclipse 6 tank. These are the first shrimp I've ever had. Acclimation went well and they seem happy in their new homes...

I live in Lexington Park, MD, very near the mouth of the Patuxent River where it enters the Chesapeake Bay. My grandfather was a waterman, and my father likes to do much of these activities (crabbing, fishing, oystering, etc.) as a hobby. I'm wondering how hard it would be to set up a tank with...

I am considering setting up a SW tank, my first ever! I've had aquariums for years, but have just recently set up 3 freshwater tanks again after not having any for about 8 years. All are doing really, REALLY well (age and experience are such great teachers, especially where patience is...

My Eclipse Six tank is doing really, really well. The plants are growing well (a little too well in the case of my Wisteria, which needs trimming), and the fish appear to be happy and healthy. The tank has been fully cycled since June 16, 2006. The fish consist of 2 Neon Tetras (which I bought...

I have a very small (6-gallon Eclipse Six) tank and a 20-gallon long tank. Both tanks just completed cycling and I'm starting to stock them. The 6-gallon tank has 1 Corydoras and 2 Neon Tetras; I plan on adding 2 Otocinclus catfish and 3-4 more Neon Tetras. This tank has 5 plants (a Wisteria...

My Wisteria (Hygrophila difformis) is growing like mad and needs to be trimmed. I'm fairly new to a lot of aquarium plants (in previous tanks I stuck to apons, swords, and a few other plants), and am trying lots of new plants to vary my aquascapes in my new tanks. For the Wisteria, should I...