Search found 187 matches
- Sat Dec 26, 2020 3:47 pm
- Forum: Tank Talk
- Topic: busted heater
- Replies: 15
- Views: 760
Re: busted heater
Are there any heaters that "fail-to-off"? I know that the standard bimetallic strip thermostats are set up so that they are permanently on when they fail, but are there heaters that go off when the thermostat fails? Given that cold is less immediately lethal to many fish than heat that see...
- Tue Dec 08, 2020 1:22 am
- Forum: Speak Easy
- Topic: Dumb things we have done
- Replies: 12
- Views: 1011
Re: Dumb things we have done
The heater needed to be at 78 degrees (F, obviously). I'm looking at the low-contrast numbers etched in the thermostat control on the heater and carefully set it for the one that ends in 8. A month later I have my arm in the tank and it's a lot warmer than the tank next to it, which is supposedly at...
- Sat Nov 21, 2020 12:17 am
- Forum: South American Catfishes (Callichthyidae - Corys et al)
- Topic: Bad incident, take some caution
- Replies: 30
- Views: 3896
Re: Bad incident, take some caution
It also makes me think the interaction of that unknown chemical and a fish organism must drastically differ in the mechanism and/or intensity versus human organism; otherwise, this would have been noted long ago and adjusted but as is, it doesn't present danger to humans. Well, for us it's on our s...
- Mon Sep 07, 2020 12:37 am
- Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
- Topic: Getting L204s back into conditions
- Replies: 3
- Views: 937
Getting L204s back into conditions
I just got 3 L204 ( Panaqolus albivermis ) but they're definitely semi-starved. (The place I got them doesn't ever feed plecos correctly, and they were supposed to call me when they came in, but they called the wrong number and so the plecos sat in their care for a while.) I have them in a 55 gallon...
- Mon Aug 03, 2020 8:33 pm
- Forum: Tank Talk
- Topic: About filtration
- Replies: 70
- Views: 22824
Re: About filtration
I have Walstads book on its way in the mail but I have not read it. However I have suspicions that she is attributing too much to the plants and too little to microbes. I have Walstad's book. I thought it was very good. Disclaimer: I also know Diane Walstad (although not well). Disclaimer to the di...
- Sun Aug 02, 2020 4:38 pm
- Forum: Tank Talk
- Topic: About filtration
- Replies: 70
- Views: 22824
Re: About filtration
It seems like Mankysanke is claiming that the center is more negative (and, obviously, the outside is full of positive ions) which causes the ammonia to "switch partners" constantly, moving inwards each time. This sort of behavior is possible for ionic bonds, which are not bonds between t...
- Sat Aug 01, 2020 12:32 am
- Forum: Tank Talk
- Topic: About filtration
- Replies: 70
- Views: 22824
Re: About filtration
Reading "Mankysanke's" explanation it seems reasonable but for one thing and that is that the negative charge of the clay particles constantly draws the positive ammonia toward the center. Why doesn't the ammonia stick to the first negative ion exchange surface it hits? If I am right and ...
- Wed Jul 29, 2020 2:38 pm
- Forum: Asian Catfishes
- Topic: Krytopterus vitreolus constitution
- Replies: 8
- Views: 5308
Re: Krytopterus vitreolus constitution
One interesting thing of note: the fish in the left of the picture has lots of black pigment all throughout its body, on the bone the notochord, the skull, eyes, etc,. It was the last of a batch separate from the others. I'm guessing its a wild caught fish. Opinions? Well, to the best of my knowled...
- Sun Jul 19, 2020 9:20 pm
- Forum: Tank Talk
- Topic: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?
- Replies: 465
- Views: 155901
Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?
That seems a novel, innovative thought to me :) Thank you so much for it. Gotta think how to offer ourselves to potential clientele. How is this done? Through personal connections or is there a web-based service that connects educational institutions with the "people out in the field and the e...
- Sun Jul 19, 2020 5:22 pm
- Forum: Tank Talk
- Topic: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?
- Replies: 465
- Views: 155901
Re: My Public Aquarium: exhibit blues - how to make them?
***I am not open yet, don't have the Certificate of Occupancy, and this activity would then be probably of some unlawful kind. So I know you're in Florida, where the official position on coronavirus is that if we don't talk about it it can't get us, but for lots of parts of the country people are w...
- Fri Jul 10, 2020 5:20 pm
- Forum: Other Catfishes
- Topic: Are Columbian sharks ok with full saltwater?
- Replies: 19
- Views: 6110
Re: Are Columbian sharks ok with full saltwater?
Someone said on another forum that they acclimated their fish straight from freshwater to marine the fish were fine in a reef tank for a short while then died, so no I’m stuck, did the salinity kill them or the reef environment. The salinity change, probably. You might be able to survive in very wa...
- Sat Jun 20, 2020 6:15 pm
- Forum: Other Catfishes
- Topic: Are Columbian sharks ok with full saltwater?
- Replies: 19
- Views: 6110
Re: Are Columbian sharks ok with full saltwater?
Ok I increased the salinity of the aquarium from 1.005/1006 to 1.007 and this appeared small lumps across the fishes sides I have a picture I will attached then the columbian shark keeper I was talking to advised me it maybe parasites and more salt will kill the parasites so I increased the salinit...
- Sat Jun 13, 2020 12:02 am
- Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
- Topic: Creating ideal conditions for L260
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1786
Re: Creating ideal conditions for L260
If the goal is more oxygen and not actually more current then why not just use airstones? The argument I generally hear against airstones is that very little oxygen actually exits the bubbles into the water. This is probably true. However, the reason powerheads oxygenate water is that they "sti...
- Thu May 21, 2020 3:20 pm
- Forum: Other Catfishes
- Topic: Need more help with my columbian sharks please
- Replies: 33
- Views: 8266
Re: Need more help with my columbian sharks please
As for the big deal over using reverse osmosis trying to say I’m not right if it’s so abnormal why do so many fish stores use it? Why are aquarium reverse osmosis units made? Huh? Why does the aquarium salt companies suggest using it? YouTube is full of videos of people using it, and plenty of prod...
- Wed May 20, 2020 9:31 pm
- Forum: Other Catfishes
- Topic: Need more help with my columbian sharks please
- Replies: 33
- Views: 8266
Re: Need more help with my columbian sharks please
There is no stress or issue with the cycling as there’s no free ammonia thanks to prime and stability my ammonia alert confirms this as does API test kit, eventually the tank will cycle until then the ammonia and nitries are being bound and not toxic. There's always stress in moving fish. Can't be ...
- Tue May 19, 2020 10:17 pm
- Forum: Other Catfishes
- Topic: Need more help with my columbian sharks please
- Replies: 33
- Views: 8266
Re: Need more help with my columbian sharks please
UV sanitizer would be an overkill in my humble opinion but many people, especially who own very rare and expensive fish, opt to have one. I have one, but I've only ever used it to try to control a mycobacterium outbreak. I don't leave it running in any tank normally. Let's review the problems: 1) T...
- Sun Apr 26, 2020 11:55 pm
- Forum: Tank Talk
- Topic: Marc's fish room build
- Replies: 259
- Views: 109061
Re: Marc's fish room build
Apparently I've missed some updates here. Quick comments: I've also had fish swim through uplift tubes into the space behind Mattenfilters. For glass catfish I've jammed a slice of plastic into the tube, splitting it into two halves which are each small enough that the catfish doesn't want to go thr...
- Tue Mar 31, 2020 5:46 pm
- Forum: Tank Talk
- Topic: About filtration
- Replies: 70
- Views: 22824
Re: About filtration
I am a huge fan of Mattens. I have 3 tanks which rely primarily on them. Almost as much, I like the Poret foam cubes. This is a brand and I am sure there are other brands as good, I just ended up using this one. I'll second this. I have a whole aquatics lab running off Mattenfilters, and we never h...
- Sun Mar 29, 2020 5:47 pm
- Forum: South American Catfishes (Callichthyidae - Corys et al)
- Topic: What is actually causing the mass death of Corydoras fry during the first few weeks of life?
- Replies: 9
- Views: 3232
Re: What is actually causing the mass death of Corydoras fry during the first few weeks of life?
For marine fish there is some research saying that some fry are actually born too small to eat properly. Your experience with some fry surviving in the waste tank suggests that the mechanism may be genetic - some fry will die, some fry will survive, and if you throw a survivor in the waste tank it w...
- Fri Mar 27, 2020 2:02 am
- Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
- Topic: How many ottos for a 55Gal tank
- Replies: 11
- Views: 2181
Re: How many ottos for a 55Gal tank
I only have planted tanks, but my understanding is that Otocinclus spp. are much more difficult to keep without plants. In terms off the lack of success in growing plants, it is unlikely to be too much light or too long a light period. cheers Darrel I've had good luck with otos in a heavily planted...