Ghost shrimp/jewel anemone hlth/ID  - 07/19/08
I can't seem to find an answer for my questions.#1 I bought some ghost shrimp from my LFS and I noticed they had some white dots on their body, is this normal or some sort of disease?
<Mmm, likely more the latter... not communicable though. These sorts of markings show up in specimens that have been kept in poor conditions>
#2 I have a large colony of jewel anemones
<There are a few species that go by this name... Is this a Corynactis? Which do you have?
and can't find any info on them any where can you tell me or give me a link to some information on them? Thanks for any help!
<Bob Fenner>

No luck with freshwater cycle?  -07/18/08
Hello, WWM crew, and thanks in advance for your reply.
I have a couple of questions on a brand new 10-gallon freshwater tank I'm trying to set up. I currently have a Betta in a 1-gallon setup (no heater, poor guy) who will be moving into the new tank as soon as its water settles. General Question (the General for short) lives on my desk, where the ambient temperature sometimes drops below 70 F due to an overactive air conditioner... I'm sure he'll enjoy his new home much more. Joining him will be a few small catfish (Otocinclus - the excellent LFS has fat & happy, local, captive-bred specimens) to help with algae and add some more interest to the tank, which will be helping to spruce up a very dull reception area at my workplace.
<Tank-bred Otocinclus are very rare and they aren't bred on farms. The only breeders are hobbyists, and prices tend to be high as and when these fish are sold. If your LFS really does have a supplier of such fish, that's fantastic! Wild-caught fish predominate, and are so inexpensive lots of aquarists buy them. As I've explained elsewhere on WWM, they are extremely bad fish for the non-expert fishkeeper: they need quite cool water (no more than 25 C), very strong water currents, lots of oxygen, and a constant supply of green algae (not other kinds) or a suitable substitute such as algae wafers. All in all, difficult fish to keep alive, and the VAST majority die within a few months.>
I am pretty new to this and have never tried to do a fishless cycle before - the few aquarium books I've read have absolutely nothing useful to say on the cycle process, and I didn't find what I'm looking for by searching your site or the web at large. That said, I've had a blast reading all your articles.
<All aquarium books should describe the cycling process, and I've never yet seen an aquarium book for beginners that doesn't. In any case, here it is:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm
>
The 10-gallon will eventually have rooted plants, but does not yet (I get paid today, rooted plants come soon!) and currently has a pair of Java fern. It has 1" sphagnum peat (no additives) under 1" gravel as a substrate. As our local water is very basic and very hard, the peat not only makes the plants happy but also keeps the pH in a less extreme range (7.2 rather than 8.3). There is a hanging filter with mechanical, carbon and biological media (AquaClear 20), a heater holding at 78-80 degrees, and a fluorescent grow light that came with the hood. When starting my cycle, I sprinkled in a few of the General's freeze-dried bloodworms, hoping that their decay would cause an ammonia spike. Indeed it did; ammonia went from 0 to 6 ppm in two days' time. I've also seen a NO3 spike up to 100 ppm, but no NO2! The ammonia is slowly dropping back down, the NO3 is rising, and this does not
fit the pattern I've read about over and over on your site and elsewhere. Did I go wrong somewhere? Do I need to try again? Or does it just need a big water change?
<If you have ammonia, it's because you are either: [a] overfeeding; [b] under-filtering; or [c] not allowing the filter to mature. Common mistakes people make are to keep cleaning the biological filter medium vigourously. This kills the bacteria. A gentle squeeze in a bucket of aquarium water is all you need do, ideally once every 2-6 weeks depending on how messy your fish are. Obviously you should not feed your fish at all if you can detect ammonia. Fish can easily last 1-2 weeks without food, so this isn't an issue. Just let the ammonia drop down, and once it's safe, add tiny amounts of food. A single flake is ample for a Betta.>
The second question involves snails. They must have come in with the Java ferns. I didn't have snails before - don't want them, even - and they're tiny. One has already died; I found its empty shell scooting around in the filter's current. At least two other individuals exist - one has a fuzzy tuft of algae on its shell and the other does not. They are glossy, black, and very round, and researching them told me that they should not be able to survive in the aquarium at this stage as the ammonia and nitrate are way too high. How are they surviving the wild swings in this tank?
<Some snails are adapted to ponds where the water quality can be pretty poor. These snails breathe air, and are consequently less dependent on water quality than fish. While snails will die if endlessly exposed to very poor conditions, in the short term at least things like pond snails and Melanoides are surprisingly tolerant. Snails don't do any harm, and their numbers are directly proportional to the amount of uneaten food and generally muck in the tank. Clean tanks have few snails; dirty tanks have lots. So the important thing is to appreciate what snails are -- recyclers -- and keep the tank clean so that their numbers stay small. A few snails in a tank is a good thing: they help circulate the gravel and so prevent anaerobic decay. But in large numbers they are unsightly, and certain plants will be nibbled by them. That said, I have a small planted tank with lots of snail species and it is fine. Cryptocoryne, Java fern/moss, Vallisneria are all ignored by small snails such as Physa spp. Melanoides snails never eat plants and are completely trustworthy.>
I'm pretty confused on this, though not concerned as it seems the General will probably eat them once the water has figured itself out and he's in his new home.
Thanks!
~Sylvia
<Cheers, Neale.>

Black ghost... hlth, sys., gen.   -07/18/08
Hello.
<Hello,>
I found your cool site accidentally and have learned a lot from reading on it mainly about Black Ghosts (great job keep it up). I have gotten into the hobby on an unfortunate account that my dad had gotten cancer and I was taking care of his fish 2 tanks until he passed away.
<Sorry to hear that.>
Because of getting back to a regular work schedule I was not able to get there regularly anymore to help my step mom take care of the tank, so she asked if I wanted it. I took it to my place using same water transported in buckets did partial water change and so on when I got it to my place. I guess the move was too much for them and the fish got ich and died off after several weeks. ANYWAY, after letting the take "I hope" get healthy so to speak.. as per advice of my LFS put some food in it with no fish said it would keep cycle somewhat going.
<You can indeed cycle a tank by adding a pinch of flake, though you need to also do water changes, and also keep adding portions of food every 2-3 days. As the food rots, it produces ammonia, and that kick-starts the cycle. It will still take the usual 4-6 weeks to fully cycle, and you need to be measuring the nitrite level to see when the cycle is finished. If you just add one pinch of food and leave it at that, then all that happens is that one portion of food decays, the ammonia goes up, goes down, and then nothing much happens. You MUST keep adding food so that the bacteria have a constant source of ammonia. Essentially you're keeping fish, without the fish!>
I turned up the heat to in 90's for couple weeks to hopefully kill off any ich that might of still been in there. Finally getting to the BGK they are such a great fish.
<Yes they are, but also extremely difficult to maintain. Being very sensitive to water quality, under no circumstances would you put one in a tank less than 3 months old. You want the filter to not only cycle, but also "settle down". The problem is that a new aquarium goes through a period where the filter sometimes misbehaves, and you get small nitrite or ammonia spikes. Exposing Apteronotus albifrons to this phase would be a disaster. There's also a period where the fishkeeper needs to get the hang of cleaning the filter without harming the bacteria, and also doing things like siphoning out detritus from the substrate, learning how much food to use, and performing water changes.>
He seems to go against a lot of things I was reading about them. and I guess its on a fish to fish basis.. he is almost always out even with the light on (as matter of fact I am watching him swim around tank now and the light is on, he started eating out of my hand after at first time trying one week after I got him, he eats flakes when I put them in tank for my Kribensis. and he eats frozen bloodworms that I put in tank at lights out.
<All quite normal for well-adjusted, happy animal.>
This brings me to a question. I noticed today that the bottom fin has a couple splits in it What are the usual causes of this?
<Not "usual" but may be either rough handling (netting, transport); biting (by other fish); scratching (check for sharp ornaments or gravel); or early stages of Finrot (check ammonia/nitrite ASAP). You mention Kribensis, and all Pelvicachromis spp. are territorial and quite prone to biting even substantially larger fish. I have a small female Pelvicachromis taeniatus that quite happily charges and chases pufferfish. So while basically good community fish, their feistiness is out of all proportion to their size, as is often the case with that family we call the Cichlidae.>
There doesn't seem to be any discoloration he seems to be aggressive towards my Kribensis that I just put in about 4 days ago though that has become less frequent. Kribensis doesn't seem to like to be around him and swims away when BGK swims near him, so I don't know if Kribensis got brave and did something when lights were out, but as I watch him he still constantly swims away from BGK.
<They are competing for the same resources, namely caves, and will view each other as potential rivals. It is absolutely normal for Pelvicachromis to be utterly peaceful towards midwater fish but total terrors with regard to bottom living species. Does obviously depend on the size of the tank; Apteronotus albifrons will need a big aquarium, something upwards of 220 litres/60 gallons. Anything less and you WILL be asking for trouble. They are fish of fast-flowing rivers, so also need a very strong water current to burn off all their energy. I'd be looking at canister filters providing not less than 6 times the volume of the tank in turnover per hour. Forget about using anything hang-on-the-back or air-powered!>
So was wondering if you had any thoughts on what might cause the splitting of the fin and what I should do so it doesn't get worse. Thank you MUCH... and again thanks for this great site.
<Hope this helps, Neale.>

Question about my aquarium... FW, Small, stkg.  7/18/08
Hello,
I was just wondering if I could ask you a question?
<Feel free!>
I have a 5 gallon tank and realize the size is not ideal but I will be upgrading in 6 months time to as large a tank as I can get, once I move house. Right now I have 1 female guppy who is very lively and healthy seeming and 7 neon tetras. Am I overstocked?
<Depends how you define these things. If things are working for now, I'd leave things be and not add any more fish. The problem with small tanks is that they can quickly topple over from working nicely into being a complete disaster. The bigger the tank, the slower this happens, which is why bigger tanks are recommended. For the average aquarist, a 20 gallon tank is a good starting point, or 30 gallons if you want to keep medium-sized sort of fish like cichlids rather than guppies and tetras.>
I worry about it and can't provide a bigger home for them and didn't realize when I started the tank it may be too small. I've had it for a couple of months so its cycled and I do a 25% water change every week, sometimes more frequently if I feel it needs it. It also has a hang-on filter, lighting, heater and a air pump connected to a air stone. The temp remains constant at 25 degrees c. I also have an Amazon sword plant which I think is growing well and a banana plant. PH is around 7.5.
<It all sounds nice. Small tanks aren't "bad", they're just difficult. I have an 8-gallon tank that is incredibly rewarding. It sits on a windowsill and I let the aquatic plants grow out the top. Some of them are twice as tall above the water as they underneath the water, and they're covered with flowers. In there I keep livebearer fry (Limia nigrofasciata) and some Cherry shrimps, which are breeding like crazy, and four little Aspidoras catfish that are barely an inch long. The thing is that I'm an expert fishkeeper and I know what I'm doing. For someone new to the hobby, this sort of tank would be very difficult to set up. Or more specifically, they'd be trying to add too many fish that are too big for the system, and so cause problems. This is why we recommend 20 gallon tanks for beginners: they're easy to stock with popular fish, and they're big enough that they will "forgive" accidents and oversights.>
I realize I made a mistake not buying a huge tank but I'm not living in my own house but my sisters and thus don't have room for a huge one. Anyway I can make them happy and healthy? They seem fine at the moment. One neon tetra does have a small pale patch near the tail, I at first thought it was fungus but its not growing and seems to just be a pale part of its skin. Its not like a dot so I don't think its ick and none of the other fish have it. What do you think?
<Difficult without a photo. Could be early stages of Finrot, but I suspect it might be the dreaded Neon Tetra Disease (or so-called False Neon Tetra Disease). In either case what happens is the fish loses colour by stages, becomes shy, separates off from the school, stops eating, and then dies. It's very contagious, and passed on when healthy fish peck at dead or dying fish. So if you are sure the fish is sick, isolating it is a good idea, and painlessly destroying it the best plan of all. Neons these days are plagued with this disease, and I know lots of people who buy a big school of Neons and end up with only half of them just a few months later.>
Thank you very much if you can answer.
<Hope this helps, Neale.>

An Oscar's diet...  7/18/08
Thank you so very much for the information your site provides! I have been overwhelmed with all that I have learned in the last couple of weeks. Neale has answered some questions and my transplant tank for my Oscar is coming along nicely. I wish the friend who gave me the aquarium with the Oscar would have read this site so I wouldn't have had to spend so much $$ to ensure "SharkBait" would have a happy/healthy life! (Upgrading from a 35 gallon hex with a single Emperor 280 to a 75 gallon with two Emperor 280's and an Eheim 2217)
<We're glad to help, and I'm pleased to hear about all these positive changes.>
My friend also told me that all I had to do was buy these Cichlid Pellets and feed him twice a day. Reading over your FAQs, I see that SharkBait should have meat in his diet. I live in S. Florida and we have had lots of rain lately...the frogs have been very busy and I have 100s of tiny frogs hoping about the yard...are these safe to feed to an Oscar? (I have read and searched the FAQs and I see that crustaceans (shrimp) and veggies (shelled peas) are recommended.)
<Oscars certainly will eat small amphibians in the wild. But do be careful, because some amphibians are toxic. Here in England for example, the common toad contains Bufotoxin, and I once had a cat that bit one and then spent the rest of the day frothing from the mouth like it had rabies. So you have to be careful. Personally, I wouldn't take the risk. Oscars feed primarily on fish and arthropods, especially crayfish and small crabs. The second most common part of their diet is plant matter, something aquarists don't always realise. So rather than worrying about "one" perfect food item, I always recommend people come up with as diverse a menu as possible for feeding Oscars. There is a good reason to avoid live foods though, beyond the risks of poisons/parasites, and that's the infamous Oscar Hunger Strike. Some Oscars are prone to accepting just one favourite food item. This causes major problems in the long term. So you want to be offering something different every day or two, so bad habits can't form. Do take care not to overfeed your fish too; Oscars are consummate animal psychologists that are very good at training humans to provide them with food on demand. Resist their mind games! A healthy Oscar should be lean, and with a just-filled abdomen rather than looking stuffed.>
Thank you again for all the time the crew has put into this site and answering questions like this one. The information is invaluable to we who do not know and need to learn.
<Thanks for the kind words. Oscars are lovely fish, perhaps THE most intelligent fish in the hobby, and make amazingly good pets. Time used researching your fish is time well spent. Cheers, Neale.>

Separating Red Eared Sliders 7/17/2008
Hello,
<Ave,>
I have been reading and scanning your site for any information pertinent to my situation. I have 3 red eared sliders, 2 females and 1 male. My male turtle is becoming aggressive towards my 2 females, and from what I have read so far it seems the wisest choice would to be to separate the male from the 2 females.
<May well be if the habitat is too small. Sometimes a bigger vivarium with at least two "islands" of land will mean the females can rest away from the female easily enough. Most problems happen when they are crammed into a too-small enclosure.>
My concern is, after doing a lot of reading, will the two females "miss" the male or will the male "miss" the females?
<They won't miss him at all. Though do be aware that females can produce (infertile) eggs away from the male, and this can lead to "egg binding" if they can't lay them, a potentially fatal situation.
http://redearslider.com/reproduction.html
Obviously this causes a great deal of pain to the reptile, so you should be aware of the symptoms and prepared to fix things should the worst happen.>
Is there such thing as turtle depression?
<If there is, it isn't something known to science.>
I got them as babies 4 and 1/2 years ago and they have never been separated since, and I don't want them to feel insecure or lonely by me separating them.
<Reptiles are generally pretty phlegmatic animals and Red-ear Sliders at least aren't social animals in the wild.>
Also, I have read that female red eared sliders are more aggressive than males.
<Not heard of this.>
Would leaving the 2 females together be a recipe for disaster?
<Nope, assuming the habitat is big enough for two dinner-plate sized animals.>
They have not had a problem with each other at all so far, only with the male. It seems that it would be ok to leave the 2 females together as long as they don't fight. Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for your time!
<Hope this helps, Neale.>

Zebrafish Development, lit. searches, scientific  7/17/2008
Hello,
I am currently working in a Cell biology lab that is using zebrafish as a model system. What is the minimum temperature that a zebrafish embryo can develop? I have read that adult zebrafish can tolerate a wide range of temperatures (from 64-80F). I have also read that spawning is temperature induced. Is it possible for zebrafish embryos to develop normally in temperatures as low as 64F (since reproduction is stimulated by warmer temperatures?)? If not, what is the lowest temperature that normal development can occur?
Thank you very much for you time!
<Greetings. I'm assuming from your e-mail you're an undergraduate who's been assigned a project at a research lab someplace. That's great. Now, I do vaguely know the answer to this, but I'm pretty sure that putting into your project a factoid gleaned from "some guy on the web", even one with a PhD like me, isn't what your professors are after. What they want from you is to do a literature research. Trust me on this: being a some-time university professor myself, I know precisely and exactly what I expect from my undergraduates. So, what I suggest you do is first find out the scientific name of the Zebra Danio, and then use the bioscience/biomed literature search tools (e.g., SilverPlatter) at your academic library to access the scientific literature. Warning: the scientific name of the Zebra Danio has changed at least once in the recent past, so you will need to use both names to get the full overview. The developmental biology of the Zebra Danio has been done to death, and it was something being studied decades ago. So the answer to your question is certainly out there. Confused? Ask the librarian; librarians are happy to help with focused questions like this and will know precisely what tools are available to help you. In short: Good students use the scientific literature; Weak students use Google and Wikipedia. It's as simple as that. Good luck with your project! Neale>

Re: sick fire belly-newt – 07/16/08
Hey,
Thanks for all this, I'm really grateful:), but if you can i.d really like if you can recommend any of those stuff, like what type of plants, what kind of vitamins and food, and the light. I have one of those but its broken:( (my bunny got to the power cord).
Ok, please let me know, Bergur.
<Mmmm, no sense "reinventing the wheel" or other common/shared knowledge sources. Please peruse this search result: http://www.google.com/search?q=fire+belly+newt+culture&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGIC
Bob Fenner>

Adjusting CO2, pH, dKH, the "Shift" Key on Your Computer Keyboard - 7/16/08
Dear Crew,
<Hello again!>
First, I would like to say thank you to Benjamin. I have confirmed the bottle was indeed filled with co2;)
<Welcome, and glad to hear it. My thanks to Bob for pointing out a simple test I overlooked/was ignorant of>
I have a 250gal planted aquaria, heavily planted, with 30 cardinals, 2 Corydoras, 5swordfish, 3 algae eaters, 3botias,1 black ghost.
All fishes seems to be doing fine- the swordfish just bred.
Plant growth, however, has been slow.
I'm experiencing difficulties in achieving the correct level of water parameters (ph; kH and co2 levels) currently my tank water has ph=8.5 and kH=11
I'm using sera test kit for testing the water kH and ph.
I'm using well water that has ph=7.5 ; and kH=11. unfortunately, haven't found a gH test kits from my LFS, so I assume that the water has a high level of gH, since it shows marking on dry pipelines.
<11 dKH also indicates high TDS>
Recently I bought a CO2 unit from my LFS and it has been running for about a week. And made adjustment of about 5 bubbles per sec. and leaving it running throughout the night.
Q: How come my ph doesn't show any changes? Should I pump up the CO2 rate?
<I wouldn't>
Is it because of the high kH?
<This is buffering it, yes. Consider an acid buffer in your water changes>
I've tried using RO water (with ph=7; kH=3)changes but after a few hours the ph and kH went back to 8.5ph and 11kh.
<11 dKH in a 25o gallon tank is a lot of buffering capacity. Will take many water changes...also, do you have an sources of carbonate in your aquarium? Aragonite, limestone, etc?>
Also, it will come to a time when I will have to make water changes that I don't want to keep buying RO water.
<With your hard water, it may be necessary for you to purchase an RO unit to make your own- at a significant savings compared to purchasing the water>
What should I do to make my life easier?
<Use lower alkalinity in your water changes for a while, see if this helps. To make my life easier, please read our page on "How to Ask the WWM Crew a Question and do use punctuation, capitalization so that I don't have to type edit your email. These are all archived for posterity (and Google!) and it will speed the reply and posting- or prevent our ignoring it entirely- if you follow our guidelines.>
many thanks,
<No problem!>
Hans.
<Benjamin>

Water Temp Info, goldfish sys.  – 07/16/08
Dear Crew,
Hello again, this is Pierre. I have a question about my goldfish tank. The water temperature always ranges from 78 degrees F to 82 degrees F. The goldfish is happy like always, eats like a little piggy, is energetic, and displays vibrant colors. However, I know goldfish like cooler water and I want to know a safe way to lower the temperature of the water without giving the fish temperature shock. I don't know if Ice Cubes are the way to go.
Thanks again!
<Hello Pierre. For a few weeks, such high temperatures will do no harm at all. Increase the water circulation if you can, perhaps by turning the filter to its highest setting or by adding an airstone. This way, oxygen will be more effectively distributed in the water. But provided water quality remains good, your Goldfish will be fine. Cheers, Neale.>

Black Moor Problems – 07/16/08
Dear Crew
I'm really sorry for being a nuisance but I really need some help. I've never had Black moors before and my friend had got me one for my birthday from the local petstore. I've had him for a month now, and for most of this time he's been velvety black. recently I've noticed him changing colour slightly and I don't know whether it's normal or not. I'm really worried also that he's sick because he has his dorsal and pectoral fins folded against his body. he's in a tank with a comet and a shubunkin, I don't have a filter but I change the water every second day. He's still got his appetite, and he interacts with me and the other fishes in the tank. I don't know what to do and I'm really confused right now. Your help would be really appreciated.
yours sincerely
Victoria
<Hello Victoria. Without knowing precisely what the colour changes are, or what the aquarium environment is like, it is difficult to say what's going on here for sure. However, from the sound of things, my assumption is that Goldfish is reacting to poor water quality by producing extra mucous. This makes its body look more grey than black. The clamped fins would be consistent with this, too. The fact you don't have a filter is worrying: despite Goldfish often being placed in tanks (or bowls) without filters, their mortality under such conditions is very high. I'd encourage you to read something on the basic care of Goldfish, and then review whether the aquarium you have matches those conditions. Very often people make the mistake of keeping them in tanks that are too small, not using filters, or using water from a domestic water softener.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/goldfish101art.htm
Hope this helps, Neale.>

Re: Black Moor Problems 7/17/2008
Dear Neale
thank you so much for your help. I'm taking a look at fish tanks so hopefully they might be getting a new home, but until then is it safe to use filtered water? also the black moor is changing to a bluish/brown color and I have a comet that was pure white changing to orange, are these color changes natural? yet again than you for the help.
Yours sincerely, Victoria
<Hello Victoria. There's no point to using filtered water. Better to use dechlorinated tap water. Do big, regular water changes (I'd say 50% per week, at least). Using filtered water would get very expensive doing that, to no advantage! Goldfish like hard water, so water from a domestic water softener is bad, too. Black Goldfish sometimes turn bronze/green, and changes from white to orange happen too. Goldfish all start off as green when young, and then change colour as they get a bit older. Sometimes their genes make other changes happen too. But do make sure you understand the difference between a fish changing colour and something like Finrot, which causes bloody patches to appear on the skin and fins. Goldfish are lovely, tamable fish that genuinely enjoy human company. So spending a little time and money giving them a good home will pay you back handsomely in the long run. Good luck, Neale.>

Re: Black Moor Problems  7/18/08
Dear Neale
Thank you very much. I'm hoping that soon enough they'll both be back to normal, its odd that the shubunkin hasn't been affected at all. thank you again, all your help is greatly appreciated!
yours sincerely
Victoria
<We're happy to help. Keep reading, and keep enjoying your fish! Cheers, Neale.>

UV Lighting for Reptiles: A new problem with high UVB output fluorescent compact lamps and tubes?  7/15/08
Hi Neale
Christine over this way. I just wanted to thank you for all you help answering all my questions. Also I just came across this on the internet and thought you may find it interesting. I think this is what is wrong with my turtles.
I think everyone needs to read this link and not use the UVB lights.
Thanks again Christine
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-cases.htm
<Hello Christine. This is one of those situations where humans tend to be bad at judging risk. The same way we feel happy in cars (which have an abysmal safety record) yet nervous in aeroplanes (the safest way to travel). This report sites a few (twenty) cases of reptiles getting sick from one particular brand of UV-B lamp. Yet the numbers of captive reptiles in bad health because of lack of UV-B must run into the thousands if not millions because so many people are too cheap/too ignorant to buy these essential pieces of equipment. The laboratory work is beyond debate on this: without access to UV-B, reptiles cannot process Vitamin D correctly. See here:
http://www.anapsid.org/gehrman2.html
My worry with the article like the one you've drawn my attention to is that some people will read the article and decide NOT to use UV-B lights at all. Some of those folks out of genuine concern, others because they're cheap and can now rationalise away the need to buy a UV-B lamp. At most what that article is saying is that one specific brand of UV-B lamp, the ZooMed ReptiSun 10.0, has been correlated by some pet owners to observable health problems. However, as someone who teaches biology including statistical methods, let me make this completely clear: the authors of that web page have demonstrated no statistically significant effect at all. We do not know how many people also use ZooMed ReptiSun 10.0 and have perfectly healthy reptiles for example. If each sick reptiles are only one in a thousand healthy reptiles, then the effect is not significant. Moreover, simply because two things happen one after the other (the reptiles get sick after the new UV-B lights were installed) it does not mean the two things were actually connected ("post hoc ergo propter hoc"). These reptiles could be getting sick for other reasons, e.g., the fact the UV-B lamps used before the new ones were installed were weak, and so the reptiles had already started to develop a UV-B deficiency, but only later did the symptoms become visible. Or these pet owners could be using these high-power UV-B lamps in a way not recommended by the manufacturer, e.g., in a standard fitting that places them too close to the animal. In short, while an interesting and perhaps worrying article, reptile keepers should be fully aware that even if one particular brand of UV-B lamps may have faults or may be easier to use incorrectly, UV-B lamps remain essential parts of the kit and must be used. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: UV Lighting for Reptiles: A new problem with high UVB output fluorescent compact lamps and tubes?  -07/18/08
Neale,
Thanks for your reply. I will absolutely continue to use the UVB light, as you said it is vital for my turtles to live as with all other reptiles. I just think that these companies that manufacture these lights should be more careful and let the consumer know the effects this could have on all reptiles if not used properly. People grow to love their reptiles and for something to happen to them is devastating. Without the knowledge and time of helpful people as yourself that we could rely on, some of us (especially me) would never know what to do to keep our reptiles safe and happy.
Thanks once again Christine
<Hello Christine. I think you've hit the nail on the head. Researching potential equipment purchases is just as important as finding about a pet animal before you buy it. Some brands and models may well be better than others, and discussing purchases on the various pet-keeping forums is always worthwhile. As you express clearly, owners can develop a real bond with reptile and amphibian pets, even if it isn't always clear that those animals take much interest in us! My main worry in the reptile-keeping side of the hobby is that so many people, especially children, buy these animals without doing any kind of research at all because they are "cool". Only later do they realise that in many ways reptiles are very demanding and expensive animals to keep. Cheers, Neale.>

Betta hernia?
Hi, I'm pet-sitting a male Betta fish right now, and today my family and I noticed a longish pink thing trailing down from the underside of his belly. He seems to be moving around just fine, but we're not exactly sure what to do! Does he have a hernia, and if he does, what can we do about it?
~ Stephanie
<Greetings Stephanie! Assuming that this "thing" is merely a long, string-like thing emerging from the anus, what you're seeing is faeces, and more specifically constipation. Bettas that are fed nothing but flake/pellets are prone to this problem, and in the long term it can cause serious damage. So recommend to the pet owner he/she feed a more varied, healthy diet that contains not just dried foods but also things like live or wet frozen daphnia and brine shrimp. I'd recommend limiting dried foods to only 50% the diet for any fish, including Bettas. Cheers, Neale.>

Freshwater Aquarium Questions. Goldfish, sys.... mostly   7/15/08
The Questions in this message have been put in BOLD font for your sanity, lol, the rest is details.
<Not much use here I'm afraid, as the messages get here in plain text. So I guess I'm going to lose my sanity.>
I have a 5 gallon Eclipse Hexagon tank with a LOT of plastic plants (like 10 or 12 plants), a sterilized "hermit crab shell", a "cave" made of 3 rocks, natural colored quartzy looking aquarium gravel, an incandescent light bulb, a small (2.5 inches without tail fin) black moor goldfish, 2 silver hatchet fish (1.5 inches long each) and varying numbers of snails, the population of snails generally self regulates itself I usually never have more than 8 living snails that are visible, as of right now there are 4.
<OK, this tank is _way_ overstocked to start with. Goldfish need, minimum, 20 gallons a piece, and I'd reckon a 30 gallon tank so that you can keep at least two specimens (they're social, after all, and don't like to be "in solitary confinement"). So your number one priority here is to upgrade your tank. Next up, hexagonal tanks are a bit of a gimmick really. The only people who buy them are those without much fishkeeping experience. So yes, the manufacturers are trading on ignorance. You see, they are too deep relative to their surface area, so for any given volume you can't keep as many fish as for a similar capacity rectangular aquarium. The only things they're useful for are Bettas and systems containing only shrimps and snails. Do remember there is no such thing as a "small" Goldfish, and even your Black Moor will quickly grow into a 20 cm/8" monster if looked after correctly.>
This tank was fully matured for a year before I put any of these animals in there, because the tank was previously used to house baby live bearers for my mothers old 55 gallon (without the decorations, but the same gravel). When my mom sold the big tank, I kept the small tank running with the hatchet fish in it.
<Hmm... would have sold the hexagonal tank and kept the 55 gallon tank myself. No discussion about which is better.>
The hatchets weren't intended for the 5 gallon, they lived in my mother's tank, but she bought a catfish that got large and ate most of her fish and at the time she sold it, there was only a Pleco and the catfish and the hatchet fish left out of many live bearers, including mollies and platys, mom didn't want the hatchet fish to be eaten, so they put them in the "baby tank" and when we sold the big tank, the new owners didn't want the tiny little hatchets, so they stayed.
<With you so far...>
Anyway, fast forward. My aunt thought it would be a nice idea to buy me a black moor goldfish for my birthday, without asking me or letting me know, she figured I already had the tank, so it was alright, so the Black moor lives there too, the snails came on purpose for help with algae. Since the tank was so old before the adult fish got there, it was quite well established. My question is, I recently have been wanting to put live plants in the tank instead of the plastic ones, but I don't know if it would upset anything or even if the plants would last with the goldfish.
<Goldfish eat plants. They are herbivores. In fact they get very unhealthy if not given live plants to eat...
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/gldfshmalnut.htm
So no, live plants aren't really an option. Besides, you'd be hard pressed to illuminate a 5 gallon system sufficiently that plants would grow.>
This tank has been running in the current state for almost a year itself, so the biological factor is established. I do not have a test kit (I know, I know I should have one, but I never got around to it, with the babies we didn't use one, so I just never got into the habit of using one. I change 50% of the water with a gravel vac once or twice a month, I never change the filter media, I just rinse it under dechlorinated water every week and put it back in, it has a bio-wheel which is never touched and there's algae growing on the decorations, which I don't mind because it never gets on the walls and the snails seem to have a tough time scraping algae off the rough rock cave anyway. I use Tetra Aqua Aqua Safe Tap water conditioner with Bio-Extract for the water changes and once or twice a month I drop in a Jungle Bowl Buddy fizzing tablet to promote their slime coat and reduce ammonia slightly, once a week I add two or three drops of AP Crystal Clear water clarifier, which is half the recommended maintenance dose, but I always just use half the recommended dose of it just to be safe, I also use monthly a half tablet of Jungle Fizzing Ammonia Reducing Tank buddy (since a whole tablet treats 10g) and on occasion I add a tiny pinch of API aquarium salt to keep my goldfishes gills in good shape. I feed my fish Wardley Tropical flakes and Aqua-Buddies Goldfish pellets, I feed them two different forms of food because the hatchets can't fit the pellets in their mouths and the greedy goldfish goes for the big pellets before he goes for the tiny flakes, occasionally I put in a piece of fresh raw romaine lettuce for the snails to eat. Besides obviously getting a test kit, what else can I do to keep my goldfish and hatchets healthy, buying a new tank and decorations and restarting a whole new tank is not an option right now, I enjoy the fully matured tank I have and for the time being everything seems alright, no distress and healthy appetites and active movements all around, I may buy a new tank and get it started maturing sometime in the future, but right now I don't have the money to start all over again. I am very very sorry this message is so long, but I wanted to be sure you understood the entire situation.
<Didn't spot any other questions in here. But the answer is "get a bigger tank" because this one is a disaster waiting to happen...
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/goldfish101art.htm
>
If you could please recommend a good test kit that will work with the products I use that I can buy online, that'd be great too.
<I'd recommend any aquarist own a nitrite test kit and a pH test kit. These two provide the easiest way to test for the two main sources of trouble: poor water quality and water chemistry instability. What you're aiming for is zero nitrite at all times, and that the pH remains stable between water changes. Goldfish prefer hard, alkaline conditions, so the ideal is a pH around 7.5, but the precise value doesn't matter so long as it doesn't keep changing.
Hope this helps, Neale.>