Any fishkeepers here? Saltwater or freshwater

[Silock]

Long, and flat, kinda like an Amazon sword.

No idea on the brand. Whatever they sell at Petco.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Silock

Long, and flat, kinda like an Amazon sword.

Like this?



That's hygrophilia polysperma, or dwarf hygro. I don't have any experience with it so I can't say if it is as forgiving as its cousin.

Originally Posted by Silock

No idea on the brand. Whatever they sell at Petco.

I believe Petco sells Zoo Med, which I use and have had very good luck. I don't know if I already asked this, but what size is the bulb? Is it a screw-in compact fluorescent or an actual tube?

[DJ's left nut]

Gotta brag a little bit here - got a new Naso Tang, cleaned the tank up a bit, have been dosing with some coral supplements and am pretty happy with the reef for the moment (though, as ever, this is always the moment things will go haywire:



(Work is blocking youtube, so this may not work...)

[DJ's left nut]

Okay, should be fixed, even if I can't see it.

There's some fairly cool stuff in there now. That little pink guy that flashes around a bit is a mystery wrasse; he's pretty rare and isn't exactly cheap. I've had him for about 9 months now and he's doubled in size. He's an eating machine and has taken to pretty well torturing any new additions that aren't big enough to kick the hell out of him. I have to introduce smaller fish at night and sometimes in pairs to make sure that he'll either miss them or get distracted.

Those clownfish were no bigger than 5 centimeters when I got them from a local breeder. They were sucked into overflows on several occasions and rescued. The big delta-shaped tang is a Dejardinii Sailfin, the Red Sea model; much prettier than his Hawaiian cousin. The Naso is the silverish one with the yellow markings around his eyes. That fish is freakin' awesome - was eating out of my hands in the 2nd day.

I'm going to get a Flame Angel back in there as well as a Kole tang for hair algae control and then probably concentrate on coral growth for awhile. I may get a calcium reactor or some additional water movers that will allow for better corals. Maybe a 250W light setup or better skimmer. The nice SPS corals require extremely clean water and that's just very tough to do with the kind of bio-load I have in that tank; lots of big fish. I'm a fish guy first, corals second.

Well, that is until I inevitably backslide as is normally the case with these things. Then I'll probably want to dump bleach in the whole thing and walk away. It happens every 3 months or so...

[htismaqe]

That's a nice setup. I'm jealous.

[Lumpy]

Beautiful tank and awesome video!! I hope to eventually move to saltwater in a couple of years.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Lumpy

Beautiful tank and awesome video!! I hope to eventually move to saltwater in a couple of years. Here's the most recent video of my 55 gallon...

LOVE it.

Enjoy the hornwort and wisteria while you can.

I started with two 6-inch pieces of hornwort when I first started with plants.

In 4 weeks, the flow of water had turned it into a bushy ball. When I painstakingly unraveled the ball, I had 4 strands over SIX FEET long.

I prune 4-6" off my wisteria every 2 weeks and it doesn't seem to make a real dent.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Lumpy

Beautiful tank and awesome video!! I hope to eventually move to saltwater in a couple of years. Here's the most recent video of my 55 gallon...

Cool setup; much higher production values than my video...

Rasboras and Danios!!! ARRGGGHHHH!

That's a whole lot of fin nippers you have in there that appear to be playing nice. I've had awful luck with those little fish so I pretty much quit trying. They just have a tendency to torture my larger, cooler fish...then die.

I like the planted tank - I've never seen one like that before.

[Lumpy]

Originally Posted by Pittsie

My last 58 mini mbuna tank..... I had/have a good collection of rocks.

I meant to compliment you on your pics earlier, Pittsie! Nice setup! Is the tank still up and running?

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Cool setup; much higher production values than my video...

Rasboras and Danios!!! ARRGGGHHHH!

That's a whole lot of fin nippers you have in there that appear to be playing nice. I've had awful luck with those little fish so I pretty much quit trying. They just have a tendency to torture my larger, cooler fish...then die.

I like the planted tank - I've never seen one like that before.

Thanks! I was having fun w/ my video editing software. I had more fun w/ the edits on my first video, (it's on my youtube channel if you want to check it out). I also had my 2 African Dwarf Frogs in that tank when I filmed the first video, (now the ADF's are in my 5 gallon).

Yeah, not much fin-nipping going on... I'm quite surprised. Oh and I don't have any Danios. I think you're referring to my Silver Tip Tetras.

I watched your video, (yet again), and I'm in love w/ your little Clown Fish! I don't think any SW tank is complete w/ a few of those guys. Your corals and anemones look really healthy btw... nice job!

[cabletech94]

that's a fantastic red tail shark. really. i never had luck with mine. i went through 3 or 4 and finally stopped trying. they'd get some sort of bloating and look like pineapples. and die. nothing else in the tank would die/get sick. you've got great balance of fish and veg.
getting the itch to start up again!

[Lumpy]

Originally Posted by cabletech94

that's a fantastic red tail shark. really. i never had luck with mine. i went through 3 or 4 and finally stopped trying. they'd get some sort of bloating and look like pineapples. and die. nothing else in the tank would die/get sick. you've got great balance of fish and veg.
getting the itch to start up again!

Thanks! The RT Shark is actually Gonzo's fish. That bastard will never die, (I'm referring to the fish, not Gonzo). The shark has been in this tank since we started it up almost 2 years ago. He's been through a lot. I had a Marineland heater malfunction and damn near boil all of my fishes, but he, along w/ a few others survived.

It sounds like your sharks had Dropsy. If that was the case, none of the other fishes would have gotten it. I've had a few get it, and sadly, there's not much that you can do for them. Some suggest Epsom salt baths and feeding blanched peas, but I never had luck.

[cabletech94]

Originally Posted by Lumpy

Thanks! The RT Shark is actually Gonzo's fish. That bastard will never die, (I'm referring to the fish, not Gonzo). The shark has been in this tank since we started it up almost 2 years ago. He's been through a lot. I had a Marineland heater malfunction and damn near boil all of my fishes, but he, along w/ a few others survived.

It sounds like your sharks had Dropsy. If that was the case, none of the other fishes would have gotten it. I've had a few get it, and sadly, there's not much that you can do for them. Some suggest Epsom salt baths and feeding blanched peas, but I never had luck.

i don't know why, but i lol'd pretty hard at that.
my wife is becoming suspicious.

[Lumpy]

Originally Posted by cabletech94

i don't know why, but i lol'd pretty hard at that.
my wife is becoming suspicious.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Lumpy

I had a Marineland heater malfunction and damn near boil all of my fishes, but he, along w/ a few others survived.

Was it a Stealth (black polymer)? They recalled those and I got 100% of my money back by mailing it to them.

Originally Posted by Lumpy

It sounds like your sharks had Dropsy. If that was the case, none of the other fishes would have gotten it. I've had a few get it, and sadly, there's not much that you can do for them. Some suggest Epsom salt baths and feeding blanched peas, but I never had luck.

Yep, pine-coning usually means dropsy. Epsom salt baths and peas (I use frozen peas and thaw them in tank water) are both excellent suggestions. I would also suggest adding Methylene Blue to the salt baths.

You can also feed anti-biotic food but it usually won't work because sick fish don't want to eat.

[Lumpy]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

LOVE it.

Enjoy the hornwort and wisteria while you can.

I started with two 6-inch pieces of hornwort when I first started with plants.

In 4 weeks, the flow of water had turned it into a bushy ball. When I painstakingly unraveled the ball, I had 4 strands over SIX FEET long.

I prune 4-6" off my wisteria every 2 weeks and it doesn't seem to make a real dent.

Thanks! I'm sure I would have the same problem w/ growth if I would remember to dose my Excel every other day. Lately, I've been forgetting to do so and my plants are looking a little rough.

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Was it a Stealth (black polymer)? They recalled those and I got 100% of my money back by mailing it to them.

Yep, pine-coning usually means dropsy. Epsom salt baths and peas (I use frozen peas and thaw them in tank water) are both excellent suggestions. I would also suggest adding Methylene Blue to the salt baths.

You can also feed anti-biotic food but it usually won't work because sick fish don't want to eat.

Yep. It was a Stealth, (I can't remember the model number, but it was on the recall list). I ended up taking mine back to Petco and they gave me store credit. Funny thing is, I originally bought it on sale and they gave me a full price credit. Ha! Suckers! I ended up buying an Aqueon 200w Submersible Heater. So far, so good.

Excellent advice on the Dropsy, btw!