I would love to hear from anyone on compatible tropical fish, I've had
tons kill and eat each other. I have a 33 gal tank, with 1 pleco, 1 male guppy,
1 female guppy, 2 cory's, 2 frogs, 2 ram cichlids, 2 swordfish, 4 neons, 8 white
clouds, 4 platy. I would love to have some more bright and larger fish. Please
tell me what you think could/would or is compatible. I would greatly appreciate
any assistance you could offer me. Please RSVP at orcawaters@hotmail.com. Thank
you!! Orca
Orca Waters <orcawaters@hotmail.com>
Sooke, BC Canada -
Bigger and brighter fish? Hmmm. How about a couple
of gourami's or sailfin mollies? There are some colorful varieties and they
are bigger than guppies :) I think those can live with what you have currently.
My mother has an octagonal tank; the flourescent light blew. It
is not the bulb. Any ideas where to find just the light fixture - 15 inches
by 3 inches? Thanks for any advice.
PC
USA -
Try www.thatfishplace.com Good luck!
I have a system six self contained aquarium. It has been wonderful for
us and easy to maintain. However, I have a Plecostomas that has resided in our
tank since 10/98. When we got him/her it was very small, but now has grown to
approx. 6" and almost too big for the aquarium. I have no desire at this time
to increase the size of the aquarium; what I need to know is what to do with
my Plecostomas. I have contacted Petco here in Southern California, but was
informed that their policy could not accept fully grown fish returns. I certainly
do not want to do anything to harm our favorite fish - Do you have any suggestions???
Eric
CA USA -
Well Eric, this is a common problem. Plecos do grow
big and it's unkind to keep them in a small aquarium. Perhaps you can find a
friend who has an outside goldfish pond.
Well I have some flag fish and need a lot of info on them, like breeding,
temp tanks sexing etc...Thanks alot
Jo
Females are larger, fuller bodied and more noticeably
yellow with a dark patch in the dorsal fin and above the pectorals. Malers are
olive to brown gray. Needs a tank with a drak fine gravel bottom, dense planting
on the edges and back with swimming room in the center. Suggest that aquarium
be placed in a sunny place. Algae should be left on the tank sides. Add fresh
water occasionally. Species does not demand special water. Temperature 73-77
F. Lay to 70 eggs over a week or so. Male will not consume eggs or fry but female
should be removed. The eggs develop in one week and the fry can be fed micro
food.
Hi, I am relatively new to the fish aquarium thing. Had a tank as a child
but the tank was adopted so not sure about how to find compatible fish. I have
a 10 gallon tank with live plants. The aquarium store clerk told me that I could
put a male beta and a female and male dwarf gouramis together and they would
get along fine cause they were from the same family. She was Wrong! When I got
home today the beta was all flared up and chasing the gouramis all over the
place. He is now in a brandy snifter sized glass. I left the light on for the
plants but the tank temp has climbed to 84 so I turned it off. Any help would
be appreciated..I would hate to kill a fish during my learning process
Kym <mysticrunes@excite.com>
ON Canada - Mon, August 27, 2001
Yes, bettas and gourami's do not necessarily get
along for exactly the reason that the aquarium store clerk stated. The species
are too closely related. I don't know how heavily planted your tank is. But
if you can grow a lot of plants, the betta won't be as vicious. Bettas have
poor eyesight and easily lose track of adversaries if there is a lot of plant
cover. This also gives the female betta a place to hang out and avoid persecution.
Also think about a twenty gallon tank, the more space the fish have to move
around in, the less likely that they will "encounter" each other and have fights.
You can keep the betta in the brandy glass, though he'd be happier in a 2.5
or 5 gallon tank with maybe a couple of guppies or small platies as a friends.
He'll have someone to chase around who are far too agile for him to catch. As
for the 10 gallon light fixture, I'll bet is an incandescent lamp. These run
fairly hot. You can only keep the light on for about 4 hours a day otherwise
the tank gets too warm. During the winter, you could probably leave it on a
little longer and just watch the temperature on the tank. The other choice would
be to get a fluorescent lamp which runs cooler. A 20 gallon tank would also
solve this overheating from the light problem, if you have the space for it.
Good luck and enjoy the hobby.
Hi, I'm looking for information on how to make a homemade fish tank or
aquarium. I have a beautiful Koi fish which has outgrown its small tank. Can
you help me? Bonnie
sevenseedlins <sevenseedlins@hotmail.com>
Rexville, NY USA - Tue, August 28, 2001
Try checking out this link http://www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/
It has quite a bit of information about building aquariums.
You indicate Minature Sunfish are in one of your tanks. What species are
these and you indicate they are native. Where in central Florida would be a
good place to catch them.
Wildman
Oviedo, Fl USA - Fri, September 21, 2001
There are several subspecies of sunfish in Florida.
You can try the freshwater lakes in Myakka
State River Park.
I have begun breeding angelfish. I have a mated pair and they have spawned
three times, but I've had great difficulty hatching baby brine shrimp to feed
the frye and have lost many fish. I have several questions: First, what is the
recommended salinity for the brine shrimp? Does it matter if I use a plastic
vs. glass container to hatch them? What temperature do you recommend? I've had
it at 82F. How long can I expect them to take to hatch with strong aeration?
I've heard from 24 to 36 hours depending on the temperature. What happens if
they aren't removed from the brine shrimp "hatchery" promptly? Do you recommend
using something else in case you're in short supply of baby brine shrimp to
feed the frye? I've used Liquid Frye (for egglayers) but it seems to cloud the
hatchery tank excessively. Any other advice you may have would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.
Scott Welsh <mailmansmw@juno.com>
Scranton, PA USA - Sun, September 30, 2001
Try this link - http://websvirginia.com/angels/hatchshrimp/
It has pretty detailed information about hatching
brine shrimp for angel fish fry.
Im not having very much luck keeping plecos I have a 55 gallon tank and
do a 50% watet change once to twice a month using stress coat according to directions.
I only have one pleco but they only live about three to four months. It only
takes the pleco two to three days to clean the entire tank then we feed wardley
vegetable algae chip every other day at night with one light off. The other
fish in the tank are gold fish, mollies. What am i doing wrong and why do you
think could be killing the plecos.
Carl <hilersr62@msn.com>
Walls, Ms USA - Mon, October 1, 2001
Sounds like your pleco isn't getting enough to eat.
Oftentimes a bottom dweller will slowly starve to death in a competitive tank.
Put in enough food in the tank to allow the fish to feed for at least three
minutes and stir the food into the water so more gets to the bottom.
I added a platy to my fish family, now she had young, and i have the little
ones in a different tank could someone please tell me how long before i can
put them in with the other fish.(aprox size)
big gina
USA - Wed, October 17, 2001
It really depends on the size of the largest fish you
have in your tank. Watch the size of the mouth of this fish. You want to make
sure that your largest fish can't easily swallow the young. If you have a lot
of floating plants in the tank, you can probably let the young fry in the tank
as soon as they have doubled in size as they will have a place to hide. Happy
breeding.
I have a 6" pleco and I think something's wrong with him. I can't see any
visible slotches on his skin, but his fins appear to be deteriorating. Especially
the caudal and dorsal fins. The pectoral/ventral fins appear to be fine. I just
put him in a "sick tank" by himself to observe him futher. Water quality is
always good. I do regular water changes, etc... None of the other fish (cichlids)
seem fine. Please let me know if you have any advise and/or suggestions. Thanks!
shannon <uncwatson@excite.com>
Wilmington, NC USA - Sat, October 20, 2001
I'm glad you put the pleco in a sick tank as it sounds like he might have "fin rot" which is contagious. Keep the temperature in the high 70's and treat with anti-bacterial drugs that you can get from the local pet shop for about 6 days. Hopefully, that will make your pleco feel better.
This is a good informative link about fin rot
http://www.bestfish.com/tips/042899.html
Which is better, Glass or Acrylic Aquariums?
Steve
Downingtown, PA USA - Fri, October 26, 2001
GLASS. Acrylics do look nice but they are 1) Expensive
2) Hard to Clean 3) Scratch easily. If you have an expensive salt water setup
and plan on having it professionally taken care of, acrylic is fine.
thank you for your help last time with my baby platy's, they are getting
bigger now but i still have them in the other tank, i will wait 2 more days.
thank you. my next question is i have also bristle nose cat fish(3) in my tank
i know one is a female and one is a male, he has spikes all over his nose, the
other is still to young to know what it is, can you please tell me how old he
has or she has to be or how i will know when they are ready to breed. i have
had her for two and a half years and the other for one and a half years. i have
big logs in my tank for them to hide in what am i doing wrong. thanks
big gina
USA - Tue, November 13, 2001
Change the water PH to 7.0 An easy way to do this
is by using distilled water. Feed lettuce leaves soaked for four or five days.
Good luck.
We have a 50 gallon tank. Why would the water evaporate soooooo fast? There
are no leaks that we can see. We fill it to the top and with in a day or two
it is down about two inches. Sounds like we have a river going through our living
room with the water down so often! Please email me your answer. Thanks, Tammy
Tammy <MsTamee@aol.com>
Carbon Cliff, IL USA - Tue, November 20, 2001
This is a strange one. I have the same problem, but it's because I have a live plant that lives in the water that absorbs alot of the water into its roots. Obviously, you ruled out leaks. Is the tank covered with a hood that generates heat? That could be evaporating the water. I see you live in Illinois, is the tank heated? or near a heater or dehumidifier?
After moving a month ago all my fish are dying. I have lost all my black
mollies and a dragon goby. I took the necessary precautions when moving. We
even had our water tested. There was no ammonia and ph was a bit off so we bought
ph stabilzer. The water that comes from our tap comes through a water softening
system but still smells strongly of sulphur. Could that be killing my fish?
Is there anything to help with the sulphur to help inactivate it? I don't want
to lose anymore fish. Help please.
beth <dragonvisions24@hotmail.com>
marinette, wi USA - Tue, November 27, 2001
Sulfur isn't good for your fish. I'd suggest using
purified or distilled water or the bottled water from the supermarket. Once
your tank is filled, you'd only need to change 20% of the water once a month
to keep it balanced.
Can PVC or Lucite pipe be used as decorations in a fresh water tank without
poisoning the fish?
MLHab3062 <MLHab3062>
Winnetka, CA USA - Tue, November 27, 2001
Yes, you can use PVC or lucite in your tank. I'd worry more about a fish getting caught in a tube if it is not big enough for it to squeeze through. :)
I was told that corydoras catfish were laid back fish, but the two that
I had darted rapidly to the other end of the tank half of the time that I looked
into their tank. The other half of the time I looked into their tank, they acted
as if I wasn't there. I really like corydoras cats, but I'm puzzled by these
two cats. I had them for six months, and they should have become accustomed
to seeing me by then. Paul.
pauln <pauln2001@37.com>
Waldorf, MD USA - Wed, November 28, 2001
If the corys are still young, they will be active and nervous. When they get to be about an inch long they get more sedate. When you feed them do you stir the food into the water so it gets down to the bottom? Perhaps then they will start to associate you with feeding and become less shy. I've been lucky enough to have a breeding pair and its fun watching the young ones antics.
I'd like to know approximately how long a plecostomas might live in captivity.
I have mine in a 20 gallon tank with only one other fish (a small tetra). I've
had him for 8 years and he's beginning to not look as lively as he used to.
Thanks!
qama1 <qama1@aol.com>
Jasper, GA USA - Fri, December 7, 2001
All fish become less active with age. Plecos are a tough fish and if provided proper husbandry, can live for about 15-20 years. Plecos can live longer than a pet cat or dog :))
Hi, i have a spotted hypostomus pleco and lately he's been faded in color.
is this something to be concerned about? if so, what should i do?
anthony
new york, ny USA - Sun, December 16, 2001
As fish grow older, they tend to fade in color. This is probably normal.
I Have a fish tank already, and the water, and everything. But no fish.
Im waiting a little while to find out what kind I should get. I want a Angel
Fish And A Male Betta. Can these fish live together? Also, what other fish can
live with Betta's and Angel Fish?
Micki <n/a>
Sydney, NS Canada - Mon, December 17, 2001
The Betta would probably harass the Angel Fish. They are similar enough so the Betta will think the Angel is a rival. If the tank is big enough - 20 gallons and has floating plants, you might be able to get away with it. As for tank mates you want fish that are big enough so that neither Betta or Angel Fish can eat them. Try to stay away from Barbs, as they tend to pick on tank mates. Good luck.
Hi, I have another question, I have 3 clown loaches and they are starting
to get ick. I been using aquarisol for 4 days and raised the temperature to
30 c. it look like the ick stop growing but they still have it on them. i dont
know if i should add aquarium salt to the water, but i also have a pleco and
two elephant nose and a friend told me that pleco dont like salt. what else
can i do?
anthony
ny, ny USA - Tue, December 18, 2001
You really need to remove the fish that have ick and put them in a bucket or other large container of water. Treat them separately from the other fish and put the container in a warm spot. Don't add salt to your tank, you'll kill your other fish.
how can u tell if your molly is a boy or a girl? And how can you tell when
your fish is pregnant?
kristy
canal winchester, oh USA - Tue, December 25, 2001
Female mollies tend to be larger and plumper. They get a dark area on their bellies when they are pregnant.
about ten days ago i bought 4 female sunset platys upon observation i realized
that one imparticular (pumpkin) is fatter than the others and has a light brown
spot on her abdomen which i think may be the beginnings of a gravid spot is
she pregnant or am i paranoid please help!!
Lexy <Rapunzel716715>
USA - Sun, December 30, 2001
Quite likely pregnant. Platies and mollies are often pregnant when you buy
them. <>>><