Did you happen to pick those up at Petco? I noticed the stores down here in Peoria and Bloomington were selling Bumblebee cats and, they looked to me to be Psedopimelodus but they were small enough and hiding behind rocks, so I really wasn't sure. I asked one of the clerks about them and they couldn...

My tap water is very hard and alkaline (8.0-8.2). I've been mixing distilled water with it to bring the ph down to 7.5 for about a year now, and although I haven't been breeding corys, it seems to be working out pretty well. I bought a freshwater test kit and experimented with different combinations...

I've had a single agamyxis for some time now. He (she?) spends most of the time hiding in a hollow stump. I understand this is typical because they are nocturnal. I've noticed at the lfs's that when there are multiples in a tank they're always together. My question is are they social, should I be ke...

My only concern about the level of Flourite would be to keep rooting fish away from the topsoil. I don't think it would hurt them but it sure could muddy up the water. I do recommend Diana Walstad's book, however, I don't follow her advice to the letter. She uses powerheads to keep the water circula...

I agree that Flourite and peat moss and topsoil is probably redundant. How much Flourite is covering the topsoil? I'd be tempted just to leave it for a while. I tried Flourite in my qt a couple of months ago just to see how it compares to topsoil. Its too soon for me to have formed an option on it, ...

Hi Everyone,
Just joined today so I could post a reply on the topic about topsoil substrate. Nothing grows plants better than dirt. Have rejoined the hobby after a thirty year absense. Lots of changes, in particular prices.

Al

I too got interested again in aquariums after a long absense. As a kid with a ten gallon tank, I could never get plants to grow. I knew for sure I wanted a planted tank. After researching on the internet, I found a lot of references to using soil as a substrate. I bought Diana Walstad's book, "...