Recent content by Merilial

Thanks for this guide! I'm hoping to start a planted tank -- I was going to do a low tech set up but your CO2 setup post really has me considering otherwise!

Thank you everyone! All the input was extremely helpful, and seeing everyone's tank gave me some wonderful ideas.

Hello all! I'm a relative newbie to aquaria (I've been keeping fish for a little over a year and a half now) but this summer I'd like to go all-in on my current tank and plant it. Well, as all-in as a broke college student can! I'm going to start a build thread, but I have a few questions...

Thanks everyone! I'm buying her the tank over Thanksgiving and giving her some established media to help get the cycle going. She already bought a API test kit off of Amazon too. I'm glad to hear that transport shouldn't be too bad!!

HI all! So, for the holidays, my sister would like a betta fish to keep her company in her dorm room. The town her college is in only has a Wal-Mart, and she sent me photos of their bettas and they are 100% no-go's. I tend to go for "rescues," as I did for the current betta I got for my mom...

I'm in mobile, but I'm fairly certain it's out of date. I lost most of my neon tetra school, and only had 3 remaining, the single guppy, and the cories. I knew the stocking was pushing it (my parents got the fish for me while I was at school because they knew I was sad about losing 7 of my neon...

HI all, I've had a school of 7 bloodfin tetra for nearly 2 months now with no incidents. However, in the last week, I lost two of the tetra -- both had chunks taken out of their fins, but I chalked it up to the carcasses getting picked on. However, the last few days my neon tetras also have...

Good luck!! I love Bettas, they have so much personality.

Oh! My bad. Essentially, you use a pair of pants hose and drag them across the edges of decor. If it tears them, then it'll tear your bettas' delicate fins.

^ seconded, look for adjustable heaters! PetSmart has a decent variety in store, but I imagine there's some cheaper options on Amazon.

I like 5 gallons for Bettas (10 if you get a King Betta). As for substrate, I'm a fan of sand, as I think it's easier to clean and looks more natural, but gravel is fine too. You'll need a filter and heater. I bought TopFin's 5 gallon starter kit, which will go on sale soon with the holidays...

I'd be far more worried about the aggressive tendencies of your tetras than the angel, particularly if you get a small/moderately sized one. I've never kept angels but I'd warn you against keeping them with serpaes. I actually bought a school of 7 myself when I first started my 20 gallon and...

Oh dear -- at least you saved 5! I once had a neon tetra that looked to have neon tetra disease, and when I tried to remove him from the main tank he just....died. Maybe of stress? Point is, stuff happens!

I learned that things go wrong even when you do all the reading in the world. It's part of the challenge of fish keeping at times -- Murphy's law is waiting for the right time to strike! Also, budgeting... I spend much less on coffee runs than I used to!

Also -- I noticed with my guppies that the boy that got picked on the most had a very large full tail. The other two had delta style fins, and were slightly faster and had less to bite than my blue guppy. Other than my trio, I don't have any guppy experience though, so I'm not sure if this is...