Recent content by PoorBigBlue

I don't think two african dwarf frogs in a 10 gallon is overstocked at all - in fact, I'd recommend you get 3. Someone who knows more about ADFs can chime in, but their bioload isn't THAT heavy. Now, that's assuming we're talking about african DWARF frogs, and not african CLAWED frogs. I've...

I always do it before.

I'm no expert with bettas, but they change as they age and their health changes. More than likely, your boy is getting healthier, and his color is changing as he acclimates and gets fat and happy. I bought a nearly all pink and red female in October. After 3 or 4 months in a cycled, heated...

It depends. Do you want to keep one variety of shrimp, or two? If you keep two varieties of neocardinia (lets say cherry shrimp and blue shrimp), they'll breed and end up an ugly brown. If you keep them in separate tanks, that won't happen.

Well, considering that the late 80's were around 30 years ago, and that I'm 18... well, you can do the math and thing about how long that might seem Those metaframe tanks were pretty awesome! They've got such a hi-tech look, in my opinion - it's clunky, and in a good way.

My grandmother still has an ecyclopedia of aquarium fish from the late 80's. It's surprisingly detailed, with gorgeous monochrome drawings and good (but dated) information on each fish. They even go as far as to distinguish between the freshwater and brackish species of bumblebee goby, which...

Most locally owned stores usually have them priced for around $20 - Walmart has them for $10. Petsmart has them for $15. Might be a regional thing - I'm in a poorer area, and aquarium stuff just doesn't sell unless you price it cheap here. The only way you get decent equipment is if you go to...

Generally speaking, "newer" equipment will be more efficient - that's not always the case, but more often than not, it holds true. If you're using fluorescent lighting, switch to LEDs. Much more power efficient - you can even just replace your current bulb with an LED tube.

Alright, so, I've decided that the firefish is ready for this tank. It's been in QT with copper, prazi, and metro for 10 days now and hasn't shown any symptoms of disease - no flashing, no head swinging, etc. Poop looks normal, and the stomach is normal - not sunken in or lumpy. Forgive the...

So, I decided that the firefish is ready for the tank this morning. He's been in QT with theurapeutic levels of copper, prazipro, and metroplex for 10 days, and I've yet to see any signs of disease or parasites. If there was ich or velvet, I believe I would have seen it already - probably would...

The issue is with ich management is that any one stressor can cause the ich to come back in full force. What if your power goes out? Your heater/AC isn't going to work. Temp is going to swing, fish are going to stress, and the ich will find a way back. At that point, there's not a ton you can...

Hyposalinity is a bit hard to do, when compared to copper. Keep it a bit too low, and you're risking losing your fish - a bit too high, and the ich doesn't die. Not worth it, IMO - although it does work. Never done the TTM. Cupramine is easy to use, and is safe when used correctly.

Sorry to hear that. Hope everything else is okay, and that you aren't too discouraged!

Well, if you don't mind it, I wouldn't worry too much. Macroalgae is good for nutrient export, any way - it'll lower nitrate and phosphate. Just watch it, and make sure it doesn't smother out any corals. Maybe keep it trimmed in a 1" circle around all of your corals and such, to give...

I'm glad! Just a misunderstanding, then.