File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
/an/ this is now your chance to ask an aquarist. i can answer most questions regarding fresh water and salt water. so ask away
>> Anonymous
Why do fish make such shitty pets?
>> Anonymous
I recently got a blue 3 spot gourami about 4 weeks ago and I'm keeping him in a tank by himself. He was extremely pale and hid constantly until i got him some floating plants, but he is still really shy. Any suggestions?
>> Anonymous
Why do my tinfoils eat my oscar's shit and seem to enjoy it?
>> Anonymous
>>309292
gourami are in the Anabantoidei family meaning that they breath from the surface and the floating plants added some surface cover and made the fish more comfortable in its environment therefore it dose not hide as much. to deal with the shyness may just take time i have had a yellow tang for almost 5 years and whenever anybody gets near his tank he darts into the rockwork so it could just be the fish or it could be its environment. also if you can post pics so i can see your set up and fish and i may be able to help more.
>> Anonymous
So where are you copying and pasting your bullshit answers?
>> Anonymous
>>309305
oscars are carnivores and have a short digestive tract so there are still a lot of nutrients in their waste so the tinfoil barbs will gladly eat the partly digested food. i know its gross but it happens in many systems.
>> Anonymous
>>309311
but my jack dempsey eats it but then immediately spits it out...
>> Anonymous
Two-part question: my LFS has a tank full of "mini aqua red crabs", which my google-fu leads me to believe are brackish-water crabs, but some places say that they survive fine in freshwater. Which of these opinions is true?

Second question: the same LFS also has a few "yellow puffers" in with some mollies, and the dude said they're brackish water puffers. Any ideas as to which puffers they'd be? They didn't have any predominant markings, but were maybe 1/2" long; they also didn't seem to have much on their tails, it was basically just a tail without a fin.
>> Anonymous
>>309312
jack dempseys can be picky eaters, and most barbs would eat cardboard if it was offered
>> Anonymous
>>309313
ok inverts are not really my thing however some brackish water inverts can survive in full on fresh water if acclimated slowly. as for the puffers i really couldnt tell you without seeing a pic. but based on the size and nondescript markings they my be indian dwarf puffers which should be in a species tank without mollies or any other fish. also a bit of aquarium salt never hurt any freshwater tank, in most cases it helps to prevent ich and keeps the fish comfortable. to answer your questions better pics would help greatly.
>> Anonymous
do you own any nano tanks? whats some good sites to buy fishtank equipment online? google turns up thousands of results and most are fail
>> Anonymous
>>309320
personally i like http://www.drsfostersmith.com/ for dry goods and http://www.liveaquaria.com/ for live goods also http://www.petsolutions.com/ is a good resource
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>309320
sorry i missed the nano system question and as of right now i do not have any. but i have had them in the past they are more work than they are worth in my opinion, but they can make impressive displays. however only do a nono system after fish care is second nature. right now i am into big systems and weird fish here is a pic of my gulf toad fish
>> Anonymous
Coral: How do I propogate a large amount of coral from a small fragment?
>> Anonymous
>>309340
time, it takes lots of time. let the small frag grow larger then frag the now larger coral and attach your frags on to live rock using a safe method of attachment for the type of coral you are working with
>> Anonymous
OP here

I am going to bed as i have a rich full day of classes tomorrow (becoming a Marine biologist takes ass loads of education) so in the mean time post lots of questions and i'll try to answer them tomorrow also check out my other thread (>>309321) about my shark tank in my lab which i also have to do some work in tomorrow. see you all later
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I'm tempted to get one of these gentlemen but I've never owned a salt water aquarium before. Would a beginner be capable of providing the level of care that they require and how pricey would one be to feed? I hear that they're pretty voracious.
>> Anonymous
>>309346
alright this is the last one before i go to bed these guys are some of the most forgiving inerts you can get however they do need to eat a lot and the can and will break the glass in an aquarium and they have earned the nickname thumb-splitters because they can break bones with their modified claws. and if i recall right the claw can produce powers comparable to a .22 bullet. so if i were you i would steer clear of all stompapods
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I­'­ll­ ­ju­st le­ave­ t­his ­her­e­.
>> Demyx's Blue-Marine !!vjyCRKGc15d
>>309350
Mantis shrimp kills WITH THE POWER OF THE SUN.
>> Anonymous
>>309275
OP why can't I feed my bristlenose catfishes fresh veggies. I've tried most of them cut up, de-shelled, etc etc but they just won't go for them.

Only just getting into aquaria btw
>> Anonymous
>>309385
me again.

Reason being, a) trying to give them a varied diet, b) the tank doesn't grow much algae, and c) I can't fucking find anywhere that sells algae wafers where I live
>> Anonymous
>>309385
Not OP but it helps if you blanch them, nuked/steamed/blanched/boiled zucchini, no Pleco/loricarid can resist
>> Anonymous
Also pistol shrimp are pretty easy, they should be kept in a small species tank, a 10g is fine for the smaller random varieties, a Zebra or Peacock would take something bigger, we have lots of them at our store. Just any old tank with a filter and salt in the water would work, they can take some abuse. It's really not worth having them though unless you can afford to feed them live snails/crabs/fish every so often...watching them destory shells/fish is really the only reason to own one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-oAMGeKtWQ&feature=related
>> Anonymous
I have a couple of bolivian rams in my tank.

I feed my tank on flakes and bloodworms (frozen). Now, My rams will eat the worms jsut fine, but when I feed flakes, they will suck em in, chew on them for a while, and spit them back out. Are they just chewing it for flavor or something, or are they eating a bit of it? They will do this to all the flakes they come across so I'm inclined to think they get somethign out of it. Will they be ok with just the bloodworms? It's been about a year so far, and they seem ok but I jsut want ot make sure.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>> Anonymous
i'm having a problem feeding one fish. he's a rainbow shark in a ten gallon tank with a female betta and a yoyo loach. there's green algae, but it's a thin, hard layer that seems inedible. flakes and bloodworms are eaten at the surface by the betta. moistened flakes that make their way to the bottom get sucked up by the yoyo. because the yoyo is so active, i scatter a few chunks of algae wafer around, but then the female betta comes and picks them up and carries them around until she can swallow them. i have no idea what he's eating, but every few days he'll have a full belly. the whole situation is pissing me off to no end.
>> Anonymous
OP here:
>>309445
just say no to mantis shrimp, i lost half my little finger to one a few years back so if you want broken aquariums and mangled hands by all means get one.
>>309454
remember variety is the spice of life try some other frozen foods and see if they will eat
>>309494
as long as he is eating don't sweat it he just may be eating uneaten food that is left by the other fish, however if he starts to thin out then you may have some problems.

this is your last call /an/ in 20 min i am going to bed and not looking at this thread until tomorrow afternoon so ask away or i will see you in the afternoon