Pet Forum / Aquaria / Freshwater / January 2004

my wife would like to "soften" our hard water a bit.  I'm interested
too because I just can't lower the alkilinity of the fish tank.  Are
there issues and\or recommendations with water softeners for aquarium
use that I need to consider?

I have two snails isolated in a container meant for mating.  Theres a crack
at the bottom  for the fry to enter into a second chamber.  i can see about
five blobs of snail eggs.  I'm wondering how long it will take the eggs to
hatch.  I dont know what kind of snails they are, ones ...

I've read alot on the internet about the dangers of having an UGF and not
vacuuming the gravel regularly.  The basic idea is that if not vacuumed, the
gravel will fill with ditritus and develop dead spots.  Anarobic bacteria
will grow in the dead spots and produce toxic gases.  I ...

In my ventures of alternative foods, I've tried out oranges. Bala sharks are
nuts over them, just devour them.
Cleaned out the filter, it was quite pungent, aweful bitter rotton smell,
nothing I'd ever smelled before. Didn't think much of it at the time.

Since I'm asking for snail help, might as well check in on on a couple
of betta questions.
Betta 1: One day, suddenly had shortened, and "clumpy" looking fins.
Did water changes, used Bettafix to instructions.  Betta seems healthy

For the first time since I started keeping fish again, after five years,
I have ich! Having had healthy tanks all this time, I'm at a bit of a
loss. Is it normal to have only some fish in a tank infected with ich?
My three lemon tetras, the oldest fish in the tank, are covered ...

I have a male guppy who has just started rolling around while he swims
and then sits at the bottom of the tank upside down or looking quite
dead and then he starts up again - what does it all mean? And no I
didn't give him a shot of tequila.

Hello - I am reposting a question I had about whether my tank was
infected.  Since the original message I've lost 2 more female guppies.
I have noticed that none of my 8 females were pregnant in the last
4-6 months, maybe because my 2 males are sterile, I don't know.  The

  A little more info on my plant problems:
I have a 15 Watt tri-chromatic light.  I believe the ph is at about 7.4
(LFS tested it for me).  I got several types of plants, including
various swords, vals, and moneyworts (wish I could be more specific, but

I have a 55 gallon fw lightly planted tank. No ammonia, no nitrites,
nitrates at approx 10ppm before weekly 20% water change.  PH 7.0.
I have four ottos that have been in my tank for 2.5 to 3 months.  They
all looked happy and healthy until yesterday.  I noticed that one of

i have a 2 fishes that appear to be badly sick
their "lips" have dramatically increased and is black
it seems like it's a disease like plague was to human
i really don't know what it is it's the first time i see such a thing

Hello, a few days ago, the acquamarine.com domain no longer resolves.
Their website was taken down. They are not answering emails sent to
any of their previous addresses.
Does anyone know what's going on?

I have a pair of Neon Tetras in my tank for about 6 months.  They have
both grown considerably and they appear to be healthy except for one
of them seems to be "bent" behind his belly.  Its body does not run
straight anymore.  Right behind its belly the body has a distinct bend

just got a 120 gal and it's going to be a planted community tank.  i've
not decided exactly what or how many fish are going to wind up in it,
but if keep in mind the 1-inch/gallon rule, and i stay somewhat under
the maximum, what level of filtration would be ...

I'm considering building a lighted cover for my aquarium.  I'm wondering how
much weight i can safely rest on the top of my tank.  It's a 33 gallon.
I've seen some in the lfs that look pretty heavy, oak.