Pet Forum / Aquaria / Freshwater / March 2004

Does anyone know what the lifespan of a Striped Raphael Catfish (Platydoras
costatus) is?
I have one who is more that 8 years old and was wondering how much longer he
might live.

I bought a second hand tank yesterday, it's home made to some odd
specifications, it's about 3 and half foot long, just less than 2 foot wide
and deep.  It's made from only 6mm glass. the other problem is that one of
the edging pieces has fallen off one edge. by edging pieces I mea ...

My LFS said that my water looked good but that my PH was high.  He suggested
using Kent's PH Precise 7.0 in powder form to get the water to 7.0.  My tank
is about 7 weeks old and all the fish seem happy.  One of the fish he sold
me died so he did a water test and wanted me to lower ...

Anyone here raise these crayfish or have them in their tanks?  I am
interested in them and would like to know more about them.
P.S.  I have searched Google and visited a few sites, just would like to
hear input from otherson their care, breeding and possibly tankmates...

I have my 55 gal freshwater tank set-up with a penguin bio-wheel 330. The
output and intake  sits off to one side because of the tank support in the
center. The other side of the tank seems pretty calm and un-disturbed with
the plants not even moving. I feel as though it just isn't ...

My LFS sold me Hagen Plant Grow spikes.  They claim that they will last 1
year after they are activated.  Anyway, the sticks contain phosphates: Here
are the contents:
Total Nitrogen: 16%

I got a 50 Gallon Tank, 5 Amazon Swords planted throughout, and chemical
levels of 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, and about 10 Nitrates.  I swap out 5 gallon
water changes once a week.  My whole setup is about 10 weeks old.  After I
got the first batch of plants I bought some of the plant ...

   I've been in the hobby for about a year now and I'm looking forward to
upgrading to a 77/gal which I'm in the process of acquiring.
   So I've been doing some planning and I have it almost all figured out
except the bloody substrate....

Just when my week is finally starting to calm down a bit, I get a
disaster. A few hours ago I got up from my desk and watched a movie.
When I came back to my desk, my notepad was soaked. Not a good sign.
My ten gallon divided betta tank, which sits on my desk, had sprung a

Do any body know if lyretailswill eat their young, I bought a pair a
month or so ago and noticed a baby swimming in the tank yesterday, But
today i can't find it anywhere, it's only a 6 gallon tank. Is there a
chance that "dad" got a free meal. I put a sponge over the inlet tube

 Aloha!
 Hey my Clown loaches 3" have been laying eggs at the corners of my 20g
tank
So is there anything I should do to help them hatch etc?  I tried raising

Two weeks ago, I upgraded from a 10 gallon tank with continually breaking
down incadescent lights to a 20 gallon with flourescent.  While it is nice
to be able to see the fish, my four flame tetras won't come out of hiding.
They used to swim around and scramble to the surface for ...

Hi Guys - Does anyone have the setup instructions for the auto-feeder:
NutraMatic?
Thanks - Dave

I have a 12g tank, now more or less fully cycled (after two weeks in a
loaded tank, I have no ammonia or nitrite--nitrate slowly climbing,
presently at 10ppm).
I have 5 golden barbs, and 2 otocincli.