Pet Forum / Aquaria / Freshwater / December 2003

I just wanted an opinion on whether or not I have room to make some
fish additions to my 25 gallon tank (fully cycled!).
This is what I have so far:
1 Male Betta (easily one of my favorite fish)

Another potentiallly important question!!!
With regards to cycling the tank is it better to do it chemically (i.e. with
ammonia) or with fish? I have read methods for both techniques but am unsure
which is better.

New Project 72" X 36" X 36" = 400G Plywood Aquarium.  I will be keeping FW
Game fish in this tank and need to design an economical and quite filtering
system for this tank.
http://www.garf.org/news21p3.html#jake

I have two eheim external filters on my 250 liters tank. I'm "used to"
having the classic type which you could pull apart and clean each individual
part. Now however I have the "no maintanance" type, but find that after a
year of operation, only cleaning the inside of the canister ...

- Does anybody have experience in keeping Neons & Platies together?
- Does a soft water with a pH of about 6.5 stress the platies?

I recently removed a new Ramshorn snail from quarantine and noticed
it's shell is cracked. The snail is small, smaller than a quarter, and
the crack goes all the way across his shell, about 1/2 back from his
opening. Unfortunately it looks like a pretty deep crack...I'm not

I have a fish tank that has sat empty for a while and the sealant has gone a
black colour. Whats the best way to clean this ?
Thanks

One of my baby male guppies (a couple of months old) is developing his
colour nicely. Dad was a snakeskin colour, Mother had a pretty yellow
and black tail.
In addition to his developing snakeskin pattern this guppy has 2 large

Does anyone know how to move an aquarium?  I don't want to upset the balance
and put all these fish through the stress of cycling.  It's only a 10 gallon
tank.  Can I move part of the water at a time and move the fish back in?  I
don't want to do this, but it look like I will have ...

I am posting on behalf of my husband who has a major disease outbreak in his
established community tank. All water parameters are excellent (0
ammonia/nitrite, 10 nitrate), not overstocked at all, good filtration, bi
weekly water changes of 25%.

I'm starting to check out some of the stands available for aquariums and I
came across one that my wife and I both like, however, it's a little shorter
than what I'm used to seeing.  Normally most tank stands seem to be around
28-30" tall, however, this one here is only 24".  The ...

Is the jury still out on the addition of salt to tanks, or is there an
agreed-upon answer?
We have a tank with Platys and Corys.  The LFS told us to add 1 tsp salt
per gallon of water.  "The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" says

I just picked up a couple of Platys.  Well, I think one is pregnant, though
I'm not sure.  If she is, and she has babies, what am I supposed to do?  I
only have a 10 gallon tank, and can't afford to go out and get another one.
I  know I"m getting a 5 gallon for christmas, but if I ...

OK....the filter that came with my aquarium is the undergravel type....I
have read mixed reviews about these....
Are these OK? Are these as bad as some sites say they are? If not what is a
good type of filter to get?

What is the smallest fish (freshwater or saltwater) that could permantly
live in good health in a 5gal tank? in a 10gal tank?
Any schooling fish fall into this category?
Thanks,