Caper

I did add some salt...uhhh...the other night instead of cleaning...but tank needed cleaning so I did it last night. I've only put salt in it once before and was told that I only needed to do it every 3 to 4 months...but then what do they know (store). Where I changed water last night, do you think I should add more salt???? Just noticed between commercials..haha...that the other fish are still scratching too. What's frustrating is that I can't see anything at all on any of the fish to indicate a problem...other than the scratching! Uh...so...should I add more salt after adding some the other night? Don't want to end up with toooooooooooo much salt.

I would have bet money that my dalmation platy was a male when I bought it. Watching tonight...OMG...I think it's a female. Can they change sex?

Weird...I was just checking on fishies to see if anymore scratching going on...well, the ones that had been scratching last night, don't seem to be tonight! Or if they are, they aren't doing it as often. Although, a different platy was scratching tonight :roll: :roll: .

I haven't seen the bristlenoses here either Aftaburn. I have 2 ottos in my 10 gallon so thought I'd try to get them for this tank as well but they haven't had any in for awhile now.

Wish I could help...but see what people have to say about cleaning out the tank with bleach...I've seen people talk about it. Oh...and of course withouth the fish in the tank But I don't know what you would do for an established tank, unless you could temp house your fishies somewhere else...anyother tank maybe?? I know someone here will help you that knows a heck of lot more than me!

What a pretty fish BlueandKim... Discusguru...wow on your fish...they are discus?...cool...do you have pic posted here that shows the entire tank?

Oh...that is good to hear...never thought of that as being a possibility! When I went to check on him before, he was swimming/floating a bit so that means he isn't "trapped" as I thought because he can get free. I don't feed any of my fish on Sunday but for my goldfish it will be Day 1 (of 3) of no food to see if it is indeed constipation. I'm hoping that is the problem since the other fish seems to be fine. mustcooktea, do you always wet flake food and make it sink for your goldies????

I would think that if it was Ich, I'd have seen the spots by now, don't you think? Approximately, how long after they start scratching would the Ich appear? I thought "Start Right" was similar to the stress coat. I'll have to read about both when I'm in the store, maybe I'm wrong. Haven't noticed any scratching tonight so far...but then... :roll: I know...it's hard to believe... that I don't sit watching them 24/7... :lol: :lol: :lol: So, what do you think about the algae, could this make them itchy? I was looking on the net and the only thing I saw was in regard to goldfish (which I do not have in this tank) something about too much algae. I'm waiting for them to get ottos...they only have plecs...and my tank is too small for them.

Okay then...so I can put the ager (chlorine/chloramine remover) in the tank first...then add the water which will still have these things in it???? If so, then I can measure the ager much easier.

Thanks mustcooktea Okay...three days of fasting...then 3 days of peas...I'll try that. Yes, I thought maybe it was too many fish with my 3 new suprises...and the fact that I was late doing my water changes. But when I tested, ammonia, pH, nitrites were good (don't have kit for nitrates, can't get that here & forgot to get last time when I was in Halifax). Where he keeps getting "trapped", will this in itself kill him????

Totally awesome Pies When I win the lottery :lol: :lol: :lol: I'm getting marine tank but I'll have to hire somebody to take care of it....but...I won't win the lottery so!

:lol: I thought left handed as well :lol: The tank...well....WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

Gee, sorry BlueandKim It is so hard to loose a fish...I never thought I could feel that way about a fish...but...anyway really sorry. Is there a more "common" name for that kind of fish?

Sorry to hear about your losses flash_liam...congrats on the move to your new home. I recently bought fish on my way home from sister's...stopped at a pet store...I guess a couple of hours drive from here. They were in the bags from the pet store then I placed them in insulated bags with bubble wrap. All survived the trip home, and only one loss this week of one of the platties, but I doubt the trip had anything to do with it since it was over a week (I think!).

In the second pic...directly down from the angelfish, what kind of fish is that...almost looks like he is beige color?

The last couple of days I have noticed that 1 platty, oops, make that 2 platties since another was scratching last night as well, and a couple of my guppies were scratching themselves on things. I've tried to see the best I could but I do not see anything visible on them to indicate why they would be doing this. No signs of Ich, I'm sure that would have been visible by now. The only thing that I see on the platty is maybe a shiny white section behind his eyes, I guess maybe on the gill. But to be honest, I'm not sure if that has been there all along or not. See, he was of my new guys and depending on which way his swimming you don't see it, so I could just be his color I don't know. Paraments are ok...and did a vacuum and water change last night. I haven't noticed the scratching today...but could be I'm just missing it...since spending a lot of time on here catching up and sitting with a heating pad on back (water changes!) :roll: I had to remove all ornaments and give them and glass a good cleaning as there was quite a bit of algae starting to build up (haven't been able to get ottos yet). I looked on the net but from what I've found so far algae doesn't affect the fish. Soooooooooooo, what do you folks think?

Wish I could add aother light to my 29 gallon tank. The one thing I like about the incadescent in my 10 gallon is that the entire tank is bright so no matter when my fishie are I can see them just fine, not so in the 29 g. My 29 gallon has the 1 florescent light, which took a little getting used to after the incadescents in the other tank. But, the only thing I don't like about it is if my fish are near the front (or not directly under the light) you don't see their colors like you do when they are right under the light

Sorry about your loss whitecrust I am a newbie to this hobby and a few of things I have learned...what works for one may not work for another AND there are so many opinions, experiences...out there (net) and here. Experts...hmmm...that's a tough one considering that we are dealing with living creatures who...just when we think we have it down pat...something else pops up...fish, their environments, etc. can be so "unpredictable/predictable" :-? :-? at times! I can understand you being upset...it is obvious you love your fish and doing everything that you believed you could to provide for your fish. But in this hobby, all we can do...is do our best and keep our mind open (I'm not saying you haven't) for various opinions, suggestions and so on. Please don't take offense to comments you see here...people are always trying to help and just because something is said in one of your posts, remember others read them as well, so sometimes things are thrown in as a "general"...ahhhhh...lesson so to speak for others who may read it. Again, I am truly sorry for your loss...it sounds like you had a really fantastic fish. Playing ball...hehe, never heard that one before! Take care!

I had a mess here last night doing my water changes :-? The 10 gallon, not too bad but when I did the other...messy, messy. Well, I can finally get the the water out of my tank without having it everywhere (most times anyway ). Dip vacuum in, hold finger over end of tube soon as I see water getting close to end, put vacuum back in fill again, then let go take finger off the end...and water comes from tank into bucket. Now...putting the water back in that's another story :roll: First of all...I have started using my tap water again. I have it in 10L plastic containers (from when I was buying the water). I too have a bad back and pooring the water in is awful but I haven't come up with any other way as yet. I do not add warm water...just room temp...that is all I have ever done as far as the temp of the water going back into the tank. As I have said before, the tap water here contains chlorine and chloramine so I have to add the remover. But I was adding the remover to the bottles which was making it difficult to measure. Would it be just as effective to add the remover to the tank then just add the water...or would that be asking for trouble because the water going in would still have chlorine/chloramine in it?????

Hey Bluetom! You should contact Mastercard and ask them to add that to their commercial...as long as you get a big chunk of money for the idea :lol: :lol:

Okay...I am confused :-? :-? ...what a surprise... :lol: :lol: Why do you want to get rid of the snails? I can see not wanting THAT many, wow sucked up about a 100, that's alot of snails. I've seen snails for sail here...so what's the scoop on snails then?

Sorry about your fishie Clarkeymaster Is the betta new to your tank? Gee...I thought betta's could be in a community tank...just not in with other fighters of the same sex??? I have 2 mollies...the other day I found one of my guppies on the bottom dead, tail fin gone! I've never seen the mollies go near the guppies...but, this could have been a possibility then. He seemed to be okay and I haven't noticed the mollies showing any agression what so ever.

Filters should be kept on Melanie, they can be kept off for short periods (e.g. when cleaning tank). But keeping them off for indefinte periods is a no-no, the good bacteria would eventually die and the "good" bacteria is needed. When I set up my second tank, I put in too many fish too soon. Plus, I was changing TOO much water (ok, so I can't calculate :-? ), which was not good since I wasn't giving the tank enough time to get the bacteria going. So, as was recommended by the great folks here, I did smaller water changes daily while keeping an eye on the parameters. Now, that tank is finally cycled and parameters are good. Take care and good luck

Hi...and welcome Hmmmmmmmmm...another person for me to drive crazy with questions... :lol: :lol: :lol: This is a fantastic site...and everyone is always eager to help. Take care and happy fishing

Hello! Welcome...don't forget to post some pics. This site is great. Take care!