Fish flashing and having spasms. (RMF, any better ideas?) – 11/03/09
Hi,
<Ave,>
I could use your help with a troubling situation.
<Oh?>
I have a 265 gallon African Cichlid tank that has been setup for roughly nine months.
<Nice big tank!>
The basic parameters are as follows: Temp- 78F, pH- 7.5, ammonia and nitrites=0 and nitrates are approximately 40. I realize that the ideal pH would be in the 7.8 - 8.4 range but my tap is 7.5 and I would rather keep the water at a stable level than have to constantly doctor it and possibly cause more stress.
<A pH of 7.5 should be fine for most Malawian cichlids and the hardier Tanganyikans. What matters rather more than the pH is the carbonate hardness, because what all these Rift Valley cichlids dislike is acidification. A high level of carbonate hardness prevents pH dropping between weekly water changes, and gives you some peace of mind if you have to leave the tank without water changes for a couple of weeks. Here in Southern England the water has a very high carbonate hardness because it comes out of a chalk aquifer, and Rift Valley cichlids are consequently very easy to maintain. But if your water doesn't have a high carbonate hardness, you may want to fix that. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is the thing for that, but rather than adding it by itself, use a Rift Valley salt mix. There are commercial ones, or you can use the old "home brew" recipe listed on this page:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/fwh2oquality.htm
Either way, aim for medium to high carbonate hardness levels.>
I also realize that the nitrates are a little high and will step up my water change routine to get it down to a more acceptable level.
<Indeed. While nitrate doesn't cause immediate death (it has a very low toxicity) it does seem to stress many fish, particularly cichlids, when they're exposed to high levels for long periods. Nitrate also dissociates into nitric acid when in water, and that lowers the pH. So there's a double whammy in Rift Valley aquaria.>
Long story short, I believe I am dealing with a combination of internal and external parasites and would like to know my best course of treatment before I start dumping medications in.
<Before imagining this to be the cause, I'd strongly suggest reviewing, and if necessary optimising, water chemistry. The old "internal parasites" malarkey is often just a shorthand way for aquarists (and some retailers, to be honest) to put a name on something they don't understand. Unless you're a vet or a microbiologist, you probably can't diagnose internal parasites, with a very few exceptions (Camallanus worms and Hexamita Protozoans spring to mind). Most fish, most of the time, get sick because of their environment and/or their diet and/or the tankmates they're kept with. Conversely, most wild fish carry a few parasites without getting ill at all, because their immune systems minimise any damage. So the key is this: once a fish is stressed, then any mild infections it carries can become life threatening. But even then, it's probably fair to say that most fish that die unexpectedly do so because of their environment, because they're fed the wrong food, or because they're kept with the wrong tankmates.>
My Red Shoulder Peacock has spasms that seemingly come out of nowhere. They remind me of the behavior I witnessed years ago with an Oscar I had that had Hole in the Head disease.
<Again, Hole-in-the-Head is caused by Hexamita but triggered by environmental and dietary issues. Hexamita appears to be latent to all, repeat ALL, cichlids, and it's only when we keep them badly do they become sick. To take Oscars as an example, if someone was daft enough to feed them on feeder fish (goldfish and minnows for example) then over time the fat and especially the thiaminase would weaken their physiology, allowing the Hexamita to graduate from a harmless passenger in the gut to an actual source of disease. Hexamita infections also seem to be commonest in fish exposed to high levels of nitrate (often a problem with Oscars because of their size and greediness). Finally, there's a tight link between Hexamita and diet, particularly a lack of green foods, presumably because green foods supply vitamins. In the wild even carnivores obtain greens through the guts of their prey; that's why cats eat the guts of the birds and mice they eat, often before they eat the "white meat" we assume would be better. Something like an Oscar is eating green foods directly in the wild, through things like algae and fruits, as well as herbivorous animals they naturally consume (crabs, snails, crayfish are key parts of their diet, and why they have such strong jaws). What I'm trying to make clear is that while it's easy to blame Hexamita, at the same time you have to realise that somewhere along the line you ALLOWED it do gain the upper hand.>
The spasm looks like the fish is being electrocuted for a couple seconds, then it swims wildly around the tank and hides for awhile.
<While this might sound like Whirling Disease (Myxobolus cerebralis) that's a parasite that can only get into fish via infected Tubifex worms (and similar worms). Since nobody in their right mind feeds live Tubifex to pet fish, this shouldn't really be happening. It's far more likely you're seeing simple poisoning of some sort, what I describe with cichlids as "loopy" behaviour as they whirl around, seemingly unable to control their orientation. A variety of things can cause this, including acidification, poisons (paint fumes for example), and cold water.>
This seems to have gotten worse over the past few weeks. The only time I have seen any other fish behave like this is a couple of days ago when I did a water change. While I was refilling the tank, my F. Rostratus started jerking crazily with his mouth wide open.
<Again, if you see multiple species showing symptoms, it's a good indication there's an issue with the environment.>
I haven't seen him have any other attacks since. I add water straight from the tap and add dechlorinator to the tank as I'm filling it and never had a problem before.
<You can play Russian Roulette a couple times without blowing your brains out, but that doesn't make it safe. You should always add dechlorinator to the buckets of water, and stir well, so that any copper, chlorine, and chloramine is removed. While I understand this is a chore for big tanks, I'm not a huge fan of doing otherwise.>
I use Aquascience Ultimate water conditioner which also takes out chloramines and ammonia. For what it's worth, the Red Shoulder was having a spasm at the same time.
<I would try swapping to a different water conditioner, and I'd check that yours removes copper. I'd also draw some water from the tap, test the hardness, carbonate hardness, and pH, and then let the water sit for a day. Then repeat the tests. Some water supplies seem to contain various chemicals that alter water chemistry dramatically as they break down, some are deliberately added, like flocculants, others are a result of the aquifer or well from which the water is drawn. I'm not a huge expert on this because it doesn't tend to be a problem in the UK, but here at WWM we've had any number of messages from people who are dealing with this issue. Do read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/fwh2oqualfaq4.htm
There's much to be said for overriding any fundamental water chemistry issues by allowing water to stand for 24 hours, testing the chemistry, and then added Rift Valley salt mix as required.>
My other concern is the flashing exhibited by most of the fish. The cichlids seem to do this against the sand, usually once or twice a day that I have noticed. My three clown loaches, however, repeatedly flash their bellies against a filter intake and also flash against the sand.
<You're keeping Clown Loaches with Malawi cichlids? You do realise they have fundamentally different requirements in terms of water chemistry, and to a degree temperature?>
I have not seen anything that would indicate Ich but most of the cichlid's pectoral fins have some type of white spots on them. The tank has been treated on two other occasions.
<Treated with what? Many off-the-shelf medications are based on copper and formalin, and these are toxic to fish. Used carelessly, they do more harm that good.>
When I received my initial group of five cichlids and eight Synodontis Multipunctatus, the Red Shoulder and one or two of the other cichlids were spitting their food. There weren't any other signs usually associated with Bloat but after five or so days of the same behavior and at the recommendation of the fish's supplier, I treated with metronidazole. The fish were all eating normally after three or four days of treatment. The second time I had to treat the tank was about five months ago when I introduced the three clowns without quarantining them.
<Yikes! Clown Loaches are notoriously sensitive to Ick.>
I learned my lesson from both instances and now have a quarantine tank setup. I treated the tank with Rid-Ich from Kordon according to the directions and the spots went away after a few days.
<You got lucky; often copper/formalin treatments simply kill Loaches.>
I would like to also rule out any environmental problems before I start to medicate.
<You can't.>
The substrate is a 50/50 mix of aragonite sand and play sand from Home Depot. Could it be possible that the play sand is irritating the fish?
<Certainly possible. Obviously aragonite sand isn't compatible with Clown Loaches. It will raise the pH and carbonate hardness, and that's something that will severely stress Clown Loaches in the long term. You should only use "smooth" silica sand in freshwater aquaria, possibly augmented with marine aquarium grade coral sand in tanks where high carbonate hardness and pH are required. The use of play sand and the like might seem cheap, but unless it says "safe for aquaria" on the package, it's a fool's economy. A bag of smooth silica sand (sometimes called smooth silver sand) from a garden centre will be safe for fish, and costs very little. Here in England it's around £4 for a 25 kg (over 50 lb) bag. Seems pointless to look for anything cheaper. Other types of sands might contain traces of minerals that will alter water chemistry (who knows!) and more seriously, might be "sharp" rather than "smooth", and sharp sand can, will irritate and damage fish (their gills and bellies especially).>
The only other decor is about 150 lbs of lace rock. The lace rock was rinsed off but never sterilized. Could this be a problem?
<Unlikely.>
I have Maracide Concentrate from Mardel on hand. It says it's used for Ich, Velvet and other external parasites. It's made up of Aniline Green and Tris aminomethane.
<Unless you can positively identify the pathogen as one stated on the packaging, don't use it. For a start, this "external parasites" generalisation is misleading. While this medication will probably kill many types of protozoan parasite, it'll have little/no effect on other types of external parasite, such as flukes, lice and worms. For these, you need very specific medications.>
Should I raise the temperature and use this medication or is there something better you would recommend?
<Review environment, diet, and social behaviour first. Is there anything going on that might be stressing the fish.>
Also, should I remove the Red Shoulder and treat him separately for internal parasites or treat the whole tank?
<Likely pointless at this stage.>
All of the fish are very active with voracious appetites so hopefully I will be able to treat them successfully. Thanks in advance for your help, Jim
<Cheers, Neale.><<I don't have any better ideas... You have done an admirable job of summing up possibilities, actions to consider. But do want to state that there are other "suitable" types of FW substrates other than silicates; and often Silica sands are too sharp for many (e.g. Corydoras) use. RMF>>

Pangio spp.; basics
I am interested in getting Kuhli Loaches - but am having a hard time nailing down their needs.
<Nice fish, easy to keep.>
The Petstore says to keep them individually yet online it says to keep them in groups.
<Definitely schooling fish. Kept singly, they just hide all the time. A group of five or more is best. For one thing, you might just get to see them.>
I can not find anything about numbers to keep them in, tank size requirements etc etc
<Pangio spp. are not fussy about water chemistry, but avoid very hard water. Aim for around neutral (pH 6.5-7.5), and soft to moderately hard water 5-15 degrees dH. Don't add salt. Since they're burrowing fish, soft silica ("silica") sand is best. They're fine with pea gravel too. Don't use abrasive sand (e.g., Tahitian Moon Sand) or heavy gravel. Provide lots of hiding places, including things like lumps of bogwood and hollow ornaments.
Plants, real or plastic, are important for shade. Floating plants are extremely useful, and inhibit their tendency to jump out of tanks.
Nocturnal (very, very nocturnal) so feed at nighttime with good quality catfish pellets. Enjoy wet-frozen bloodworms and mosquito larvae too.
Minimum aquarium size around 37 litres/10 US gallons. Generally hardy, but often starve to death in tanks with too many nocturnal bottom feeders.
Females to about 6-10 cm in length, depending on the species, males smaller and thinner. Like all loaches, they're sensitive to medications that contain copper and formalin, so avoid using these where possible.>
Can you also tell me which fish etc make good tank mates and which fish should be avoided?
<I'd limit the number of bottom feeders for a start. If the tank is less than, say, 115 litres/30 US gallons, I'd suggest keeping a group of them as the only bottom feeders, perhaps with an algae-eater like a Bristlenose
Catfish but that's about it. Otherwise they mix extremely well with midwater tetras, barbs and Danios. Might be kept with very peaceful cichlids and gouramis, e.g., Angelfish or Pearl Gouramis. Very good
companions for Bettas, assuming the tank is big enough. Do well with shrimps and snails. Hope this helps, Neale.>

RES; physical injury – 11/03/09 Hi there, <Hello,> I have a 2.5 year old yellow bellied slider (sex unknown) <Males have much longer claws than the females, so sexing is usually easy.> who lives in a 75 gallon tank with a gold fish and a sucker fish. <Glad this is working for you; often doesn't. Do watch his/her companions for signs of bite marks. Conversely, water quality in turtle enclosures can be pretty poor, and this won't do your fish any good.> A few days ago the filter overflowed, so yesterday morning I put him in a 50 gallon tank while I emptied and moved the other tank so the carpet can dry properly. <Eek!> Yesterday afternoon I noticed that he had developed a white spot on one side of his head (sorry for the fuzziness of the picture). <Yes, I see it.> He used to live in the 50 gallon tank and I got a new style filter when I moved him to the 75 gallon tank. <OK.> It only has crinkly blue plastic in one side to filter the water as it flows through. The 50 gallon tank housed a Pacu for a few days about a month ago, the water was not fully emptied but the tank has been empty with a carbon filter running constantly for the last month. <Do understand carbon is pretty useless in this type of environment. While it may house some bacteria, without any fish or animals in the aquarium, the bacteria that live in the carbon will die back, close to zero. So I'd strongly suggest putting at least some of the "live" media from the filter used until it started leaking into whatever new filter you have here.> I also had to bring the temperature of the water up from 55F to 72F before I put the turtle in the water. <Indeed.> He still has his basking platform and light while he is in the temporary tank. There don't appear to be any behavioral changes. Please let me know if you have any suggestions regarding the cause, diagnosis, and treatment for my little friends’ spot. <Good, clean water and a hot, dry basking spot should help. Clean gently with a cotton ball or some tissue. Dabbing with an antibiotic ointment (like Neosporin) or an antiseptic (such as iodine ointment) can be used to clean any small injuries. Leave the turtle out of the water for half an hour afterwards. Do this once or twice a day, for a few days. Should clear up just fine. If it doesn't do so within four or five days, or the injury starts to look bloody and/or inflamed, have a vet take a look.> I really appreciate your help. ~Emily <Cheers, Neale.>

Food for green terror – 11/03/09
Hi,
This is Pavan again from India. I have green terror juveniles.
<These are pretty fish, but they do become very aggressive when sexually mature!>
I give them pellets, frozen prawn, dried earth worms.
<Why dried earthworms? Fresh (or live) earthworms are better -- less chance of causing constipation.>
But I would like to give them good food so that I can watch them growing well.
<A good quality pellet or flake, such as Hikari Cichlid Gold, should ensure perfect health. Augment with cooked peas and spinach (for fibre) and live earthworms and mosquito larvae (for a treat!). No need for anything else.>
Please tell the information about what type of other food they accept. in our place we don't have good pet stores.
<These fish are omnivores, and in the wild eat algae, organic detritus, and small invertebrates. So you have plenty of scope to experiment! The main thing is to avoid too many foods that are fatty or contain thiaminase.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/thiaminase.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/fdgfdrartneale.htm
Don't take live food from ponds or streams with fish in them. There's a risk of introducing parasites from the wild into your aquarium. But mosquito larvae collected from a rainwater butt, for example, is perfectly safe if there aren't any fish in there.>
If there is something that I can prepare at home, provide it.
<Many options here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_2/food.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_1/cav1i3/Progressive_Recipe/Progressive
_Recipe.htm
>
Thank you.
<You are welcome. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Request for help identifying and controlling this.....Algae? – 11/02/09
WWM Crew,
We have a winner! I have an API Freshwater Master Test Kit, but it doesn't contain a phosphate test...go figure.
<Ah ha!>
But my oldest son has a saltwater Reef
Test Kit that did have a phosphate test in it. My Phosphates were ugly (10ppm according to the saltwater color chart)
<Yeeikes! Pollution-ville!>
not sure how this would differ on a freshwater test, but anyways, my son let me borrow his phosphate reactor and I have been running it now for 4 days with Seachem's PhosGuard and phosphates are still high (over 1 ppm) but almost all of the slime mold is gone or is shrinking in size and coverage areas. So I think, with your help, I have identified the root cause of my problem. Funny that the "Master" test kit for freshwater doesn't include a Phosphate test.
<Mmm, stay tuned... I suspect w/in a half generation there will be "junior mass-spec." test kits for most all!>
I also tested my tap water and I have 1 ppm straight from the tap
<Dang! That's high>
so I will be adding a bag or two of PhosGuard to my canister filters to keep things in check with regular water changes.
My final question for this round (hopefully) is this, I am providing the list of tests I am currently running on my Freshwater tank. Are there other tests on freshwater that I should be doing regularly?
PH
PH high range
Ammonia
Nitrate
Nitrite
Phosphate
<Mmm, not really... unless you were breeding, rearing wild soft-acid water loving organisms... then you might be concerned with GH, KH...>
Thanks again,
Jim Odom
<Thank you! BobF>

Adding light, plants, and kubotai loaches to stable 55gal freshwater community 11/2/2009
Dear WWM crew, I love your site and the information you provide. I want to be a conscientious aquarium owner!
<Great!>
Two months ago I adopted my first aquarium--a stable 55 gallon freshwater community aquarium established for about 4 years--from a friend who lost his job and had to walk away from his mortgage. I already raise 1 husband, 2 dogs, 80 orchids and hundreds of succulents. I wanted to help my friend (and his creatures), so I welcomed this new addition to our family.
It's going great so far. The tank is clean, the fish look happy. I love them!
<Cool.>
I made one impulsive addition to the community (1 *Botia kubotai *and then 3 more when I learned they like to shoal in groups), and my question is whether this stock is sustainable for now.
<Botia kubotai is reasonably good in community tanks, but like all Botiine loaches, it tends to be on the boisterous side. By no means the worst in this regard, but still, mixing with nervous or slow-moving fish might have risks. Furthermore, since it's a stream-dwelling fish, you need a very strong water current and plenty of oxygen. I'd be aiming for a turnover rate of at least 6 and preferably 8 times the volume of the tank in turnover per hour. So for a 55 gallon tank, your filters should total up to 330 - 440 gallons/hour. Turnover rates will be quoted on the filter pumps and/or packaging.>
Also, I want to upgrade the lights, plants, decorations and substrate for greater natural equilibrium and beauty, and I have a few questions about my plan. (I read WWM *Tips *about splitting multiple issue into separate emails, but the basic, holistic question is, "*Do you see any big problems with THE PLAN?"*)
SETUP: The tank is 48"L x 15.5"W x 17.5"H. The substrate is 3.5" of plain washed gravel (1/8" to 1/4" in size). Decorations are 3"x8" ceramic cave and small, ceramic, fake coral arches. Filtration is Emperor 400 Power Filter (with 2 bio-wheels, charcoal and mechanical filters) and at the opposite end of the tank is a Penguin 1140 Powerhead (the outflow is aimed around the middle level of the tank) for greater flow. The heater is Aqueon TA150 and I have a floating thermometer.
<Sounds fine, but check the turnover rates as mentioned above.>
FISH STOCK: 4 common Plecos (2 medium 4.5", 2 small 2.5"), 5 serpae tetras, 3 swordtail (2 breeding and 1 female offspring), 4 red-eye tetra, 3 scissortail Rasbora, 1 rainbow platy, and 1 unidentified (livebearer? 1.75"). I know 4 Plecos is probably too many
<Yes... can be aggressive towards each other.>
--they were combined by their previous owners because of a housing change a few years ago. In this community tank, they seem to get along well at this stage. The biggest Pleco runs to his cave whenever I approach (so he has comfortable retreat), and everyone seems to get along. I also learned from your FAQs that the serpae tetras can be fin-biters, but they are kept calm by their numbers (5) and even calmer since I added more plants.
<Again, don't bank on this... have seen these nasty fish shred gouramis, angelfish, fancy guppies, etc.>
They like to school low, half-hidden among the midground plants. The Scissortails and red-eye tetras school high in open water, and the swordtails range the entire tank--high and low, mostly keeping together.
<Fine.>
STOCKING QUESTION: I really like the new *Botia kubotai*. Speaking just of the bottom-dwelling fish, the Plecos are tolerating the Botia just fine, and the Botia are a joy to watch. But if I have made a mistake and overstocked this system, I'm willing to trade in or adopt out some of the other fish, or eventually buy another (or a bigger) tank.
<Even one adult Plec (up to 45 cm in length!) will overstock a 55 gallon system, so while the other fish aren't really that big of a deal, the four Plecs certainly will be.>
I added some chunks of red lava to the other fake-coral decoration to make an ersatz cave for the *Botia*. They like it! However, I have read that lava can be too hard on Botia mouthparts. THE PLAN is to trade out for a smoother cave and a medium-large piece of driftwood. (I bet the Plecos would love some real driftwood, too!)
<They also eat wood, to a degree.>
MAINTENANCE HABITS AND TEST RESULTS: My vacuuming and water changes are monthly. My ammonia & nitrite are 0 ppm. pH is 7.4. Nitrate is around 5 ppm. I keep the temperature between 77 and 80, aiming for 78. I haven't tested hardness.
<pH largely irrelevant, so would check the hardness at some point soon.>
I *have *added some aquarium salt (a couple teaspoons with the 30% change).
<Salt is at best useless, at worst a stress factor, for freshwater aquaria.
You'll notice that the only people telling you to add salt are the aquarium salt manufacturers; not one aquarium book written in the last 30 years advises it.>
I also add liquid aquarium plant fertilizer with micronutrients. I see from reading WWM FAQs that for freshwater fish, adding salt might be a mistake unless I am treating for illness or overly soft water.
<Salt has no effect on water hardness; this is another misconception. Yes, you use salt for treating whitespot, and yes, marine salt mix is used as part of a water hardness recipe (along with Epsom salt and baking soda).
But in and of itself, salt does nothing to harden water whatsoever. Repeat after me: salt raises salinity, not hardness.>
So THE PLAN is to stop adding aquarium salt unless it's needed, right? THE PLAN is to start testing for water hardness and maybe phosphates, which brings us to the *live plant upgrades.*
LIGHTING: I started with 6 to 8 sad little plants and one old T12 30W 36" tube in an old 48" hood. I decided I wanted more plants and, after researching, decided that I needed more light, so from Craigslist I bought a 48" Coralife 4x56W (2 actinic and 2 10,000K color). I realize this fixture is more for marine & coral, so THE PLAN is to change out for more visible-only tubes soon.
<Actually, the type of lighting used couldn't matter less. So by all means use the tubes you have now, and only if the plants are obviously unhappy swap them for something else. Plants actually adapt to a wide range of lighting types, what matters more to them is intensity. In this case, strong lighting used for marine tanks can promote algae as well as plant growth, so you'd want to add some fast-growing floating plants to prevent this; Indian Fern and Amazon Frogbit would be ideal.>
(The seller recommended WetWebMedia, which is how I found you!) I have been keeping these on about 15 hours per day, but from reading your FAQs, THE PLAN is now to reduce this to 12 hours per day. Right?
<10 to 12 hours is fine for plants.>
PLANTS: I have steadily added plants until I have about 25 to 28 plants of various heights, widths, and growth habits. With each purchase, I have tried to stick to easy-care aquatics compatible with medium light and no CO2 (for now), such as *Egeria densa. (*I have avoided non-aquatics from chain pet stores. Heh heh.) HOWEVER, none of the plants are floating thus far. When any *Anacharis* floats up, I just stick the sprig back into the gravel.
<Do bear in mind Egeria needs hard water, and this is doubly so when kept at tropical rather than (its preferred) coldwater conditions. It can dramatically alter the pH of soft water, and if exposed to soft water conditions for long, eventually dies. Spend some time reading through the requirements of aquarium plants. They ARE NOT all the same, and you need to look through temperature and water chemistry requirements carefully.>
I see from the WWM FAQs that I should have some floating plants! So THE PLAN is to add lots more plants (and to replace them as my omnivores munch them) and to include floating plants in the mix.
<Good.>
FINALLY: I like the gravel substrate just fine, but I would like a darker color to highlight the fish. So after reading WWM FAQ on plant substrates, THE PLAN is trade out the 1/8-1/4" natural gravel for 1/8" charcoal-slate or green-slate gravel (or some other small, natural, dark, mixed gravel), and to mix in Fluorite or some other plant-oriented solid substrate and solid fertilizer.
<Do bear in mind catfish and loaches like to dig, and the more coarse/sharp stuff you add, the unhappier they become. Smooth silica sand is the optimal, with pea gravel being almost as good, and unless there's a darn good reason to do otherwise, I'd not overlook those two options.>
Final question about THE PLAN: should I test for phosphates to get a handle on other limiting factors for plant growth?
<No need.>
How about liquid CO2 supplementation?
<Pointless.>
Maybe someday I'll add gas CO2, but that's not in THE PLAN, yet.
<Importance of CO2 depends on various factors including the type of plants, the hardness of the water, and the light intensity. Under very bright lighting, CO2 can become the limiting factor very quickly.>
Very best regards and thank you for your work. As I learn, I hope to be able to give back someday!
<There is indeed a "tip jar" on the front page.>
--DC
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Adding light, plants, and kubotai loaches to stable 55gal freshwater community 11/2/2009
PS According to THE PLAN, I also close the venturi on the Penguin 1140 powerhead in the morning and turn it on at night (to boost O2 at night but leave some CO2 during the day).
<This will make little/no difference.>
I feed 1/8 tsp flakes in the morning and 1/8 tsp granules at night (to give the Botia a boost). My plants are pearling up slightly for the first time ever, which I find exciting!
<Indeed!>
Also, regarding charcoal, I think charcoal filtering will remove CO2 which my new plants will need (under their new bright lights).
<Charcoal removes dissolved organics rather than carbon dioxide, so this isn't really an issue. But that said, in most tanks, most of the time, charcoal is redundant. Water changes are a much better way to control the
build up of organic chemicals in the water.>
So should I trade out the charcoal filtering stages in the Emperor 400 Power Filter for Zeolite or some other CO2 neutral stage?
<Zeolite is even more pointless.>
Right now, I traded out the chemical filtration stage with charcoal for a couple extra mechanical filter pads, but they seem to have charcoal in them, too. So maybe I should just replace the charcoal in that stage with
something CO2-neutral and put them back.
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Adding light, plants, and kubotai loaches to stable 55gal freshwater community 11/2/2009
PPPS LIGHTING: According to THE PLAN, I also turn keep 2 x 56W actinics (soon to be traded out for visible light tubes) OFF except during midday (for 4-6 hours). So most of the 12-hours is just 2 x 56W 10,000Kelvin plus the old 40W 36" T12 fluorescent. THE PLAN is to aim for medium light levels overall since I'm not supplementing CO2 (particularly for the Pleco's and Botia's sake--they don't like too much light).
<Floating plants will produce the shade the loaches need, and the loaches are nocturnal anyway, so if they find the daytime too brightly lit, they'll just hide. Since you have a very strong lighting system, I suspect CO2 will be the limiting factor. Floating plants couldn't care less, since they use CO2 from the air, but submerged fast-growing species like Vallisneria and Egeria certainly will. Without CO2, you might elect to stick with floating plants for fast growth, and for the submerged plants, just slow-growing species that aren't too fussed, such as Java fern and Anubias and some of the hardy Cryptocoryne spp. On the other hand, these plants can become algae-magnets if exposed to strong light but not given adequate shade.
Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Adding light, plants, and kubotai loaches to stable 55gal freshwater community 11/2/2009
PPPS (last thing, sorry!) SNAILS: I have a bunch of little pest snails (Ramshorn or dwarf Ramshorn?), but they don't seem too bad.
<Botia spp. will eat the small ones. Snails generally not that big of a deal if the plants are otherwise healthy.>
(They seem fewer in number lately. I think the *Botia kubotai* loaches might be snacking on them--that was part of THE PLAN. The circle of life!
Heh heh heh.)
<Indeed.>
ALGAE: Algae levels haven't risen yet--even with the brighter light--which is understandable given the number of algae eaters in this aquarium!
<Indeed.>
I could probably afford to trade away 2 of the 4 Plecos and still have no algae problem.
<Sounds promising. Cheers, Neale.>

Severum info.. Sexing  11/2/2009
Hi there,
I am Pavan from India. I would like to know hw to distinguish between male and female Severum. Appreciate your help. Pls do answer.
<Hello Pavan. Sexing Severum cichlids is not easy, and the only sure-fire way is to watch them spawning! Females have short, blunt ovipositors compared to the long, pointed ovipositors seen on the males. But that said, there are some clues. Males tend to be bigger than females of the same age (though obviously there's variation depending on various genetic and environmental factors). As with many other cichlids, males tend to have longer dorsal and anal fins. If you look at these fins, they end in longer points that stretch further back towards the tail than on females. Again, this isn't 100% reliable, not least of all because when kept with nippy or aggressive fish these fins can be damaged. On wild-type fish, and especially wild-caught fish, males tend to have more colouration on the face, particularly the famous "worm" markings on the snout and around the eyes. They often have redder eyes than the female as well. But the stock sold commercially has been bred for colour, and both males and females can be strongly coloured; or conversely, both can lack colour on the faces altogether. Finally, there is more than one Heros species in the trade, and sexing each species will be subtly different. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebindex/severums.htm
Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Severum info.. – 11/03/09
Thank you for the info you provided. Thanks a lot
<Happy to have helped. Cheers, Neale.>

Mixed Bettas... hlth.  "fighter fish help"  11/1/09
Hi there, i wondered if you could help me.
<Will try.>
I have two fighters in our tank (90ltr) 1 male 1 female and up until now they have both been well and active.
<Good.>
They have both become very docile milling around at the surface of the tank.
<Not for long... this isn't a species that works well in pairs. I'd tend to keep groups of females to one male, certainly at least two.>
both have also faded in colour and have what i can only describe as like a "white mask" from the gills forward.
<Does happen. I think it's an excessive production of mucous, analogous to what you see on things like Black Mollies and Black Moors when they start getting ill. Because Bettas (and those black fish) are a solid colour, the mucous stands out more obviously than on other types of fish. In any event, it's a warning sign something is amiss. If these Bettas were very old, at least a year after purchase, it's possible simple old age is a factor (though I'd make the point that in captivity Bettas can live anything up to 4 years). Check water quality and water chemistry, and also review things like social behaviour between the fish and their tankmates.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/bettadiseases.htm
Anything that could be causing stress could be triggering this mucous production. It isn't good, and it doesn't necessarily go away by itself, and it can be a warning of things like bacterial and fungal infections,
among other things.>
I am at a loss having searched online for the symptoms but getting nowhere.
They share the tank with some tetra, Plec and Dalmatian mollies. All other fish are healthy. The tank itself is about 7 months old and we change 40-50% water every 10 days.
<Mollies do of course need brackish water, and tend not to do well in freshwater.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/mollies.htm
If you're adding marine salt mix to the aquarium, this could be stressing the Bettas.>
Any info as to what this could be would be very much appreciated.
Cheers Barry
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: "fighter fish help"  11/2/09
Hi there again, I'm sorry to report both fish died shortly after my last email. I have changed the water again and lifted the temp slightly but to no avail.
<Forgive me, I can't recall precisely what we're talking about here (it's best to leave prior correspondence on any replies). Was this about the male/female Bettas with the white stuff on their faces?>
Do you think the water should be changed more regularly? as i said we change 40-50% every 10 days
<We recommend 25% weekly; that's enough to keep nitrate levels low, but not so much there's a risk of sudden/severe temperature, pH or water hardness changes.>
also i have not been adding salt to the water, is this something you would recommend?
<Not normally, no. The addition of salt to freshwater tanks is "old school" and only made sense in the context of the types of fish kept 50 years ago, and the types of aquarium hardware people used. For most people, most of the time, and with the types of fish and aquaria they have, the addition of salt is at best pointless and at worst a stressor on the fish being kept.>
as i was very fond of them and would not like to lose any in the future.
Many thanks Barry
<Cheers, Neale.>
yes it was the male and female with the stuff on the face. thank you very much for you advise
many thanks Barry
<Happy to help. Cheers, Neale.

Betta splendens tankmates  – 11/1/09
I am getting a ten gallon tank, and I plant to have my turquoise Veil Tail male Betta in it....What would be good tank mates for him? I have heard about Neon Tetras, catfish, ADFs...are these acceptable? What other species may I consider?
<Neon tetras prone to nipping Bettas, and only certain Corydoras catfish are small enough to work, the "dwarf" species like Corydoras hastatus and Corydoras habrosus. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/stocking.htm
Frogs can work quite well.
Cheers, Neale.>
Also what plants work best in a ten gallon and will they grow with sand substrate?
<Would stick with floating plants (e.g., Indian Fern) since these are helpful for Bettas, giving them secure hiding places and inhibiting their tendency to jump. Since the shallow substrate isn't ideal for plants with
roots, I'd suggest looking at epiphytes, i.e., those species that grow attached to bogwood, for example Java ferns and Anubias and Java moss.
Cheers, Neale.>

Bala shark, hlth. (RMF, second opinion?)<Matches yours>  – 11/1/09
I'm hoping that you are able to help us.
<I'll certainly try.>
We came home tonight to our Bala shark extremely bloated and hanging upside down at the top of the tank struggling to swim/breathe.
<Yikes. Do check water quality and chemistry. Do read here about their general needs:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/bala_sharks.htm
Too often these big, sociable fish are kept singly and in tanks too small for them. The results are usually bad.>
his belly is bloated and has a pinkish tint underneath all the way to the tail and his eyes are puffing outward as well. he is not able to turn right side up.
<Bala Sharks are prone to bacterial haemorrhagic septicaemia, typically caused by Aeromonas bacteria. These bacteria tend to be latent in all tanks, but only become dangerous when conditions (water chemistry, water quality, diet, social stress) suppress the immune systems of the fish. Bala Sharks are sensitive animals, and overstocked, under-filtered aquaria cause them problems. Because they're big fish that need to be kept in groups of three or more, the sad reality is than 9 times out of 10, people aren't keeping them right.>
All of our levels are where they should be and he has not shown any signs of not feeling well.
<Let's clarify the "levels" bit because there's some misunderstanding here. You must have 0 levels of ammonia and nitrite; there's no such thing as a "safe, low" level whatever the test kit might suggest. Nitrate levels are a key indicator of overstocking, and you're looking for levels of less than 20 mg/l, and certainly never more than 50 mg/l. In terms of water chemistry, for Bala Sharks you're aiming for soft to moderately hard water (5-15 degrees dH) and an around-neutral pH (6.5 to 7.5). You shouldn't be adding salt to the water.>
I have put him in an isolation tank and have treated with tetracycline.
<Unfortunately, Aeromonas is often resistant to Tetracycline, and you may find Oxytetracycline more effective.>
Im thinking that he has dropsy from the way he looks and from what I have read about it.
<Do bear in mind that antibiotics will only help if the hospital tank offers good water quality and plenty of oxygen; simply isolating the fish in a tank without a mature filter will just make things worse, with or without the medication.>
Is there anything special that I can do to save him?? I thank you for your time and help!
<Do also read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/euthanasia.htm
Should the fish show no signs of recovery, it's as well to be prepared.>
Sincerely,
Jolene
<Good luck. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Bala shark  11/2/2009
He is the only Bala (about 5 in in length) in a 95 gal tank and there are only 6 other fish in it.
<He really should be in a group. A moot point if he's dying, but certainly if you decide to keep this fish again, it's a key factor to their long-term survival. The aquarium you have is adequately large for the species, though I'd make sure you have robust filtration, since these fish need lots of oxygen. I'd be looking at a big external canister filter with a turnover of at least 6 times the volume of the tank in turnover per hour (i.e., 6 x 95 = 570 gallons/hour) and ideally quite a bit more. Hang-on-the-back and undergravel filters have their places, but they'd need to be beefy to handle these sensitive fish.>
our nitrates and ammonia levels are all at 0.
<Fine. While I don't have much hope if my diagnosis is the right one, the use of antibiotics (don't forget to remove carbon from the filter if used!) may help.>
I appreciate your help!
<Glad to do what I can. Cheers, Neale.>

White spots on Flowerhorn side fins  – 11/1/09
Hi crew
<Hello,>
I have a Flowerhorn 3 inches long. He is in 20 gallon tank with powerfilter, sponge filter .
<A short term home, at best. This fish will grow rapidly, and needs a much bigger tank. You will certainly need at least 55 gallons, and realistically 75 gallons, within the next six months. If you don't provide a big enough tank, like all cichlids, he will be prone to infections (e.g., Hexamita).>
I do 25 percent waterchanges twice a week. Yesterday I fed him with live blood worms. I washed the bloodworms when I bring them but since yesterday after feeding him I saw some white spots on his side fins. He is eating the food properly. kindly suggest me some treatment to get rid of the white spots.
<Question: are these white spots that look like salt grains, or cloudy specks where the fin membrane has become discoloured? If the former, Whitespot/Ick is the issue, and this is most safely treated with a
combination of aquarium salt and heat. Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of salt per US gallon for at least 7 days with the temperature raised to 82-86 F. You can also use proprietary Ick medication, though these are somewhat toxic, so you need to watch your fish carefully while using them. If the white spots are discoloured patches on the fin membranes, then that's more likely incipient Finrot, a very common disease when fish are kept under poor conditions. Various commercial medications available, but all assume you're
going to improve environmental conditions as well. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/FWFinRot.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebindex/fwdis3setsfactors.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebindex/fwdistrbshtart.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebindex/fwfishmeds.htm
>
I have put aquarium salt in my tank today (Pl suggest me the quantity of salt to put for 20 gallon tank).
<Salt should not be added to the aquarium except for treating specific diseases. If you have Whitespot/Ick, then use the dose mentioned above.
Otherwise, don't use salt at all. Does little good, and may do some harm.>
Also suggest me some other remedy as it is worrying me a lot. I really luv my spotty very much.
<Best remedy? Reading. Find out what these fish need, and then act accordingly. Better to prevent problems than cure them.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/FHParrotCichArtNeale.htm
Cheers, Neale.>

Please help... FW, CAE... fish hlth, env.... reading   – 11/1/09
I really need fast advice.
<That's why we recommend buying a book about fishkeeping before you buy any fish. Sounds pedantic, but nothing beats having some reliable, edited text in front of you that tells you what you need to know.>
I have a 4 yr old 55 gallon FW tank. 1 Gold Gourami, 6 tiger barbs, 3 cherry barbs, 2 young Chinese algae eaters, 1 red tail shark, 4 Cory catfish, and 1 clown loach. Since my CAE are young and small, I feel it's
not over stocked.
<Well, good luck with that. I'm afraid I have little time for this fish species. It's widely known to be a trouble maker, and there's no Earthly reason at all why anyone would add one to a community tank. They're
aggressive, they're bullies, and they can physically damage other fish while fighting or simply attacking them to rasp away at the mucous on their bodies. All around, a bad fish.>
I do regular water changes about 1 a mo., about 20-30 gallons. I lost my clown loach, 1 tiger barb, 1 CAE, and it seems as if, all the rest want to follow.
<Oh dear. Now, when you have a series of different fish species dying, it's a good sign the environment is wrong at some level.>
My Nitrate levels for some reason are sky high!!!!
<Great! You're ahead of me here. So...>
I immediately did a water change...( I'm currently waiting for the water to reach 77-79 degrees and put my fish back in :) I added new carbon to 1 filter.
<Carbon = largely useless in this type of aquarium. Even nitrate-removing filtration media would be massively overwhelmed. Remember, nitrate-removing media are designed to be economical in tanks that are very lightly stocked and receive very little food, i.e., marine reef tanks. They are not economical in tanks "stuffed to the brim" with community tank species.>
Should I continue to do water changes until nit3 and nit2 reach zero?
<Nitrite should be zero all the time, every day. If it wasn't zero, that's why your fish are dead. Nitrate is a more subtle stressor, and while certainly toxic in the long term, particularly to cichlids, it isn't normally an immediate cause of death. For standard community tanks, levels above 20 mg/l are fine provided they don't exceed 50 mg/l.>
I really love my fish and have had all but the CAE for about 4 years. only down fall in doing the water changes daily is waiting for the water temp. to reach the correct temp. due to it being cold here.
<Actually, adding warm tap water to your bucket of new water won't do any harm. I assume you're not using straight RO or rainwater with zero hardness, because that would kill your fish pretty quickly too. So let's assume you're using plain vanilla tap water. That being so, mixing warm and cold water in the bucket is fine, and just add water conditioner. Any decent brand of conditioner will neutralise the copper from the hot water tank as well as the chlorine.>
Please advise me of any chemical I may use, if any to prevent me from losing any more of my beautiful fish...
<"Adding" chemicals (other than dechlorinator) usually doesn't help at all.
Do read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/fwmaint.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/fwh2oquality.htm
>
Thanks in Advance :)
Melissa
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Sick goldfish - suspected velvet, but maybe not?  – 11/1/09
Thanks Neale, v. interesting. Do you think salt for the gills and no more chemicals might be the way to go?
<Would complete the course of anti-Velvet/Ick medication you are on.
There's little use stopping halfway. Wouldn't use an anti-bacterial medication (like eSHa 2000) unless there were good reasons to do so. Salt isn't a miracle cure, and doesn't "help the gills" in any meaningful way.
Salt is specifically used to treat Ick (= Whitespot), and saltwater dips (as apposed to additions to the tank) are useful prior to physical removal of skin lice and flukes. Salt also helps detoxify nitrite and nitrate in
the short term. But ideas about salt helping "stimulate slime production" or "restore osmotic balance" are largely based on misunderstandings of the science. Goldfish evolved as freshwater fish, and always, repeat ALWAYS, do better in hard, basic freshwater conditions.>
Also, very interesting what you say about lighting and elodea... We do have these, although I did remove plants and kept the tank dark when I suspected velvet... Maybe this exacerbated the situation.
<Elodea will soften water, but this is only an issue if your water is pretty soft to begin with, and/or you don't do regular water changes to restore the background level of carbonate hardness. Ordinarily it's a
harmless plant that provides Goldfish something fibrous for them to eat.>
Will keep a closer eye on pH... Thanks again! Xxx
<Cheers, Neale.>

Corydoras paleatus, stkg. # in a ten gal. vol.   – 11/1/09
I have a 10 gallon tank with two peppered Corydoras in it - they were given to me by a friend who was breaking down her tank. I have heard they like to be kept in groups - how large of a group can I keep in a 10 gallon tank, and what types of live plants should I plant it with? I have pool filter sand as a substrate.
<A ten-gallon tank is on the small size for this species, so in the long term, you want to think seriously about something around the 20 gallon mark. Smaller tanks are difficult to keep clean, don't tend to be stable,
and don't provide enough space for fish this size to swim about and exercise themselves. Since the price differential between 10 and 20 gallon tanks is trivial, there's no reason to buy these smaller tanks that I can
think of. They take up about the same amount of space, surprisingly enough.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/stocking.htm
But in the meantime, I'd keep a group of 5 specimens. Try to get more females than males if possible (females are bigger, while males have taller, more elongated dorsal fins). I wouldn't worry too much about live plants since you have a sandy substrate. The best bet would be some floating plants, like Indian Fern, and maybe a branch or two of bogwood with some Java fern or Anubias attached. To grow plants that have roots, like Cryptocoryne species or Amazon Swords you need a reasonably deep substrate, at least 5 cm, and that'll waste too much volume inside this tank. Better to go for a shallow bed of sand, maybe 1 cm, and stick with plants that get their nutrients out of the water. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: RES Companions and other Questions – 10/31/09
Neale,
<Natasha,>
Thank you so much for your advise, you went above and beyond what I even asked.
<Happy to help.>
I especially like the information that you gave about the different types of plants to put in the aquarium. I will be using some of those for sure, Bowser seems to really enjoy the fake ones I have in their now and the Plecostomus would like the plants too (new Plecostomus). I know goldfish and feeder fish are bad, originally I had some of these in the aquarium but after finding they were bad I was going to take them out. Coincidentally my turtle went on a killing spree and they are all dead now, so that was convenient.
<Indeed.>
Right now I have some Green Barbs and Bleeding Hearts in there. But they are really not for food as my turtle would rather school with them than eat them (I didn't know about the parasites fish can carry though).
<Can be a very real problem, especially with wild-caught fish and fish breed cheaply as feeders.>
I buy any fish I have from a very reputable specialty fish store (not a pet store) so I doubt that they would have parasites, but that is good to know.
<It's not necessarily the retailer. A species like Bleeding Heart Tetras that are primarily wild-caught fish will have been exposed to worms and other parasites in their native habitat. While these parasites may or may not parasitise turtles, there *are* turtles in the Amazon, and therefore the risk of a turtle-specific parasite is there. As you perhaps know, many parasites need to pass through more than one host to complete their life cycle, and those parasites that affect reptiles often pass through a prey animal, like a small fish, first.>
I usually feed my turtle Wardley's Turtle pellets Fortified with Calcium, and I have a cuttlebone in there that he likes to eat too. If I did do a vitamin supplement what kind would you personally recommend?
<If you're feeding a good quality food together with fresh greens, vitamin supplements shouldn't really be necessary. So you're using a supplement more as an insurance policy than anything else. So get whatever is cheap and available.>
Also Do you think I should ditch the turtle pellets?
<No; as I say, at the very least, they provide a good source of useful vitamins and minerals. The main thing to remember is that once they begin to turn stale, the vitamins will have broken down, so they're less valuable. I like to freeze most of the dried foods I buy, and only keep by the tank small tubs of the stuff, enough for a few weeks at a time. That's an economical approach if you like to buy turtle or fish food in bulk.
While freezing food doesn't keep the vitamins stable forever, it's better than keeping them warm and moist by a fish tank, and should keep the dried food good for six months.>
I know as my turtle gets older he will only want vegetables one day, and I am prepared for that.
<Good. It isn't that they only eat vegetables, but as they get bigger and heavier, turtles are less able to catch food, so they get most of their calories from things that can't run away, like plants and carrion. There's no reason at all to feed them just plant foods, but certainly ensuring that their diet is rich with green foods is a healthy approach.>
Based on the information you provided me I will make sure I have another aquarium that I could set up as a home for the other turtle IF I decided to get another turtle.
<Wise; or at least, be sure you can find another home for the second turtle, should it be necessary.>
That way if they didn't get along I could separate them. In my current aquarium, space is no problem, it's a very long and wide 210 gallon.
<That should be big enough for two turtles, indeed, I'd perhaps go for three or four, one male, two or three females. That way the male would be less likely to fight, and while he would certainly pursue the females, he couldn't harass any one of them all the time. Building more than one basking spot is also helpful.>
But I will make sure that the other aquarium is in place before I decide to bring home a new turtle. Maybe I'll just get a tortoise instead, I think my RES will be fine with the setup he has now.
<Ah, now tortoises really are fun. A close friend of mine has three of them, though in England they're only out and about in the garden for about 8 months, spending the rest of the year in hibernation. Kept properly, these animals live a very long time, and it's great fun to watch them chase each other across the lawn. They're like animated garden ornaments!>
He seems to be infatuated with the new plecostomus that is in there now, so there are no more loneliness issues.
<Good.>
On a more personal note, I was hoping that you would be the one to answer my questions Neale. So I am very pleased.
<Cool.>
Can I ask what happened to the turtles and terrapins you had before?
<When I left to go to university in Scotland, they were taken to a tropical animal zoo called Tropiquaria in Somerset, a few miles from where my grandparents lived. That was some 20 years ago, so I have no idea if they're still alive, but I stopped by the Tropiquaria a couple of months ago with my nieces, and spent some time talking with the director of the zoo about the various reptiles they keep and breed. So I'm sure they had good lives.>
Thank you for your advice again, and I believe you are correct, "blunt" is a better word than "jerk" in describing your approach to idiots.
<Well, that's sorted then.!>
Regards,
Natasha
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: RES Companions and other Questions  – 11/1/09
Neale,
<Natasha,>
Thank you for the advice, I do plan on following all of your suggestions, and very much appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions. That is really cool that you took your turtles to the tropical animal zoo. I'll bet they really did have a great life.
<I think they did.>
I have one final question that I forgot to ask before... I went to the plant store to buy plants to put in the aquarium after your advice, but they didn't carry Pondweed.
<This is sold under multiple names: Elodea, Egeria, Canadian Pondweed, etc.>
Do you have any other suggestions on plants I can buy for my turtle?
<In terms of aquarium plants, Floating Indian Fern, Hornwort, Frogbit, Cabomba will all be taken. Plants sold for human consumption are often good as well. Curly lettuce and red lettuce are both good, together with small amounts of things like cooked carrots, cooked peas, and melon.>
Also, any plants that I should avoid?
<Among edible plants, things with strong flavours often have chemicals that can harm turtles. Spinach and brassicas (cabbages, etc.) are among the plants to be used sparingly.>
I like the idea of getting more female turtles, that's what I will do if I decide to get more turtles. I like tortoises too, especially the red-footed tortoises and the Sulcata tortoises, they are so interesting. I heard that you can basically set them up a habitat in your backyard and they will have their own little ecosystem back there.
<Pretty much. They're good at digging though, and vulnerable to predators including dogs, so a certain amount of planning is required. If you live somewhere with cool winters, you will need to overwinter them, either indoors in a heated vivarium or else let them hibernate. The latter needs to be planned carefully if it is to be done safely, requiring that the tortoises fatten up properly beforehand.>
I know a few people who have their tortoises set up this way. I didn't know about them chasing each other though, I would like to see that. Well I appreciate all of your advice so much Neale, I wish I would have had the courage to ask my questions earlier. I feel like I wasted a lot of time on indecisive answers.
<Ah, well.>
If we don't speak again, thank you for helping my family have a happier and healthy life! I learned a lot just from scanning the pages of this website that is for sure, but your answers helped the most.
<Kind of you to say so.>
Take Care!
Natasha
<And likewise, Natasha. Cheers, Neale.>