I have an axolotl and I love him very much. He has things to hide in in his tank, but I'm worried he's bored. How can you keep one entertained and happy? Thanks for any advice.
Answers:
Provide loops and hiding places in the tank, lava rocks are especially great!
About all that entertained mine was food and a second axolotl. I wouldn't recommend overfeeding, and the first two I had together laid eggs.
I don't know that they are actually capable of being bored, but if they are I think maybe the best way to prevent boredom is to change the decorations around it their tank once in a while. You can add new items, take some out, and move others around. You could also see about getting him a large snail for a friend. Or, if you get another axolotl, try to get one that's the same gender if you don't want babies (they're hard to raise and need a ot of space - otherwise they're cannabalistic). If you want to try it, or just want to see more info about them, try this link: http://www.axolotl.org/
Sunday, August 2, 2009
How do you keep algae out of your out door pond or at least keep it down some?
The sun is hits the pond and there are some trees (pine)
Answers:
One of the best methods to control algae is the use of floating plants in the pond. They both shade the water and use nutrients from the water. Things like water lettuce or water lilies that ffer shade are both good.
MM
You need to by the fish that eats algae...
cat fish.
what i would do is clean it out put more water in there is this thing at the pet store is called be gone it works on ever nature water system
By an algae killer product, and a pocostimus fish, they eat algae.
I'm havin' the same problem myself, and this is working pretty well.
To add to the other ideas you've gotten, is the algae attached to the sides, or is this free-floating algae in the water? If it's free-floating, a UV sterilizer unit will help, but these are expensive and the bulbs need to be replaced at least once a year.
If your algae is attached, a UV unit won't do as much good, so you may need to try and remove as much as you can by hand.
If any needles from the pines (or any other trees or plants) get in your water, remove them as soon as you notice them - these will eventually decompose and add to the nutrients that "fertilize" the algae. You can also do 25% water changes to reduce any nutrients from already decaying leaves, fish food %26 poop (if you've got fish in the pond), and pond plant fertilizers (if you use them).
Once you've removed any attached algae, add a bale or so of barley straw. It doesn't affect algae already present, but it prevents new algae. See info on this: http://montgomery.extension.psu.edu/nres...
Answers:
One of the best methods to control algae is the use of floating plants in the pond. They both shade the water and use nutrients from the water. Things like water lettuce or water lilies that ffer shade are both good.
MM
You need to by the fish that eats algae...
cat fish.
what i would do is clean it out put more water in there is this thing at the pet store is called be gone it works on ever nature water system
By an algae killer product, and a pocostimus fish, they eat algae.
I'm havin' the same problem myself, and this is working pretty well.
To add to the other ideas you've gotten, is the algae attached to the sides, or is this free-floating algae in the water? If it's free-floating, a UV sterilizer unit will help, but these are expensive and the bulbs need to be replaced at least once a year.
If your algae is attached, a UV unit won't do as much good, so you may need to try and remove as much as you can by hand.
If any needles from the pines (or any other trees or plants) get in your water, remove them as soon as you notice them - these will eventually decompose and add to the nutrients that "fertilize" the algae. You can also do 25% water changes to reduce any nutrients from already decaying leaves, fish food %26 poop (if you've got fish in the pond), and pond plant fertilizers (if you use them).
Once you've removed any attached algae, add a bale or so of barley straw. It doesn't affect algae already present, but it prevents new algae. See info on this: http://montgomery.extension.psu.edu/nres...
How do you keep a fish tank clean?
I just bought a 30 gallon aquarium yesterday. It came with filter, heater, air pump, d茅cor, background, rocks鈥?everything I needed to get it started. I washed everything good with hot water and I put the water in. I got this stuff from the pet store, can鈥檛 remember the name but the guy at the store told me it would balance everything out. I am getting some fish tomorrow. My questions are is there any fish I could get that would keep the tank clean for me? I have heard this before but don鈥檛 know what kind. Also what are the best types of fish to mix together? I would like to have tropical fish (no goldfish) Any info on this subject would be great鈥 have never had an aquarium before. Thanks
Answers:
At this point, cleaning should not be your main focus I think. Right now you need to get this new tank cycled. As some of the other people will give you an answer on, you can do this with fish and without fish. I am not in favor of without fish and I have a fair amount of background in Chemistry. 30 gallon tank, I'd get some danio zebra's or possibly some tiger barbs, DEPENDING on what kind of long term fish you want. Do NOT go and buy your long term fish right now. You need to cycle the tank first and here is a link, of many different ones you can find out cycling. Please look this over before you go and get some very exotic but delicate fish.
http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.htm...
Now when you are cycled out, in a 30 gallon tank, I'd reccomend a couple small pleco's and possibly a decent sized Albino catfish. If you don't like the looks of an Albino cat or can't find, Cory Catfish are not bad at all. However, you will need to do some weekly water changes. When you do these changes, you will want to clean up the side of the tank and in the filter. You'll want to clean with the tank water, do not use soap and things like that. Clean your mechanical filter, usually a sponge type, with the aquarium water as well to reduce bacteria loss. To clean with aquarium water, hold some of the water you are changing out in the bucket and do your rinsing of the mechanical filter in there. Use a sterile sponge to clean the sides of your tank.
I am sure you are going to get lots of advise on how best to do this. Whatever you choose to follow I wish you best of luck, but if nothing else, read over the cycling before you go get your fish tomorrow.
Hmm. in Finding Nemo, there's a fish that cleans.What kind was that fish? And you can get a oxygenator. It keeps the tank fresh. You don't have to clean tha aquarium nomore.
after time things should settle to the bottom. No matter what you will have to clean the tank 3 months or so, don't empty all the water either. Sucky fishes do good with allege get a small one big ones don't do any thing . As far as fish you can get angel fish or anything else.DONT GET SALT WATER Fish. I have guppies and they breed all by themselves good luck oh yeah add some coral by balancing your PH levels.
There is no such thing as a fish that will clean your tank for you. The best you can get is snails, shrimp, and fish that will eat some of the algae - but they all create waste and further dirty the tank like any living creature.
The best advice for you in your position, is to invest in a good book on keeping tropical fish. One can't expect all of the information on fish keeping to be provided in a yahoo post.
Keeping a tank clean is about maintaining it well and not allowing it to become overly dirty in the first place. Weekly maintenance of partial water changes, gravel vacuuming, and algae scraping will keep things in order.
The best way is to do a 10% water change every two weeks and get a gravel vac and suction the gravel to remove fish waste. As far as fish go to keep the gravel clean you could go with a catfish, pleco, algae eater, or any type of scavenger fish. Community fish you can go with barbs, lemon tetras, neon tetras, molly, platty,clown loaches (or any loach), rainbow sharks, red-tail sharks, rainbows (these are cool schooling fish, Dianos. These are a few suggestions. As far as additives go you really do not need them if you have a good filter and do regular water changes. Just have your water tested every month at a local pet store or by a test kit.
Your first step is to get your tank cycled with a few hardy,inexpensive fish such as platies. If it doesn't cycle properly the toxic amonnia buildup causes fish to die and the water to be cloudy.
http://www.fishyou.com/saltwater/tankcyc...
Once your tank is cycled,and you are ready to add more fish, check out this site for what type are compatible tankmates.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?...
There aren't any fish that do the cleaning for you,some help(plecos,snails{be careful with these babies as they overpopulate in no time}),but you will still need to get your hands wet.
Weekly water changes (about 25%) with a gravel vac, not overfeeding the fish (only what they can eat within a couple of minutes),not placing the tank in direct sunlight and not leaving the tank lights on for hours on end (too much light promotes algea growth) should keep your tank looking its best!! You will occasionally need to wipe down the sides with an algea sponge or one of those magnetic cleaners.
If you do regular water changes and maintain your filtration you should rarely have to do any cleaning. Maybe the occasional scrubbing of algae, but my 30 gallon tank never needs algae cleaned out of it. Smaller tanks require a lot more effort and I have to clean the algae off my plants on a regular basis.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/gener...
And there is a ton of reference articles on everything on how to set up, maintain and deal with problems in your tank.
A Plecostomus will keep eat algae. But if you want to get that, you have to add in other fish to make sure it doesn't grow too big. A Chinese Algae Eater will also clean algae. Sometimes a Kissing Gourami will pick off algae from plant matter.
Answers:
At this point, cleaning should not be your main focus I think. Right now you need to get this new tank cycled. As some of the other people will give you an answer on, you can do this with fish and without fish. I am not in favor of without fish and I have a fair amount of background in Chemistry. 30 gallon tank, I'd get some danio zebra's or possibly some tiger barbs, DEPENDING on what kind of long term fish you want. Do NOT go and buy your long term fish right now. You need to cycle the tank first and here is a link, of many different ones you can find out cycling. Please look this over before you go and get some very exotic but delicate fish.
http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.htm...
Now when you are cycled out, in a 30 gallon tank, I'd reccomend a couple small pleco's and possibly a decent sized Albino catfish. If you don't like the looks of an Albino cat or can't find, Cory Catfish are not bad at all. However, you will need to do some weekly water changes. When you do these changes, you will want to clean up the side of the tank and in the filter. You'll want to clean with the tank water, do not use soap and things like that. Clean your mechanical filter, usually a sponge type, with the aquarium water as well to reduce bacteria loss. To clean with aquarium water, hold some of the water you are changing out in the bucket and do your rinsing of the mechanical filter in there. Use a sterile sponge to clean the sides of your tank.
I am sure you are going to get lots of advise on how best to do this. Whatever you choose to follow I wish you best of luck, but if nothing else, read over the cycling before you go get your fish tomorrow.
Hmm. in Finding Nemo, there's a fish that cleans.What kind was that fish? And you can get a oxygenator. It keeps the tank fresh. You don't have to clean tha aquarium nomore.
after time things should settle to the bottom. No matter what you will have to clean the tank 3 months or so, don't empty all the water either. Sucky fishes do good with allege get a small one big ones don't do any thing . As far as fish you can get angel fish or anything else.DONT GET SALT WATER Fish. I have guppies and they breed all by themselves good luck oh yeah add some coral by balancing your PH levels.
There is no such thing as a fish that will clean your tank for you. The best you can get is snails, shrimp, and fish that will eat some of the algae - but they all create waste and further dirty the tank like any living creature.
The best advice for you in your position, is to invest in a good book on keeping tropical fish. One can't expect all of the information on fish keeping to be provided in a yahoo post.
Keeping a tank clean is about maintaining it well and not allowing it to become overly dirty in the first place. Weekly maintenance of partial water changes, gravel vacuuming, and algae scraping will keep things in order.
The best way is to do a 10% water change every two weeks and get a gravel vac and suction the gravel to remove fish waste. As far as fish go to keep the gravel clean you could go with a catfish, pleco, algae eater, or any type of scavenger fish. Community fish you can go with barbs, lemon tetras, neon tetras, molly, platty,clown loaches (or any loach), rainbow sharks, red-tail sharks, rainbows (these are cool schooling fish, Dianos. These are a few suggestions. As far as additives go you really do not need them if you have a good filter and do regular water changes. Just have your water tested every month at a local pet store or by a test kit.
Your first step is to get your tank cycled with a few hardy,inexpensive fish such as platies. If it doesn't cycle properly the toxic amonnia buildup causes fish to die and the water to be cloudy.
http://www.fishyou.com/saltwater/tankcyc...
Once your tank is cycled,and you are ready to add more fish, check out this site for what type are compatible tankmates.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?...
There aren't any fish that do the cleaning for you,some help(plecos,snails{be careful with these babies as they overpopulate in no time}),but you will still need to get your hands wet.
Weekly water changes (about 25%) with a gravel vac, not overfeeding the fish (only what they can eat within a couple of minutes),not placing the tank in direct sunlight and not leaving the tank lights on for hours on end (too much light promotes algea growth) should keep your tank looking its best!! You will occasionally need to wipe down the sides with an algea sponge or one of those magnetic cleaners.
If you do regular water changes and maintain your filtration you should rarely have to do any cleaning. Maybe the occasional scrubbing of algae, but my 30 gallon tank never needs algae cleaned out of it. Smaller tanks require a lot more effort and I have to clean the algae off my plants on a regular basis.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/gener...
And there is a ton of reference articles on everything on how to set up, maintain and deal with problems in your tank.
A Plecostomus will keep eat algae. But if you want to get that, you have to add in other fish to make sure it doesn't grow too big. A Chinese Algae Eater will also clean algae. Sometimes a Kissing Gourami will pick off algae from plant matter.
How do you help a bloated/constipated betta fish?
I noticed a couple of days ago that my betta is bloated. its because i overfed without knowing. but now, im placing it on a diet. Its on a 48hr no food and then starting back with just 2-3 pellets a day. %26lt;--if this is wrong, tell me a correct diet.
But my question is...is there anything I can feed it that will help the fish pass its food? It hasnt done that in a few days.
Answers:
Be sure it's not dropsy first. If the scales are sticking out, then the fish is unfortunately doomed. However, I don't think you're talking about dropsy -- just a guy who's eaten a little too much and needs a little help getting it all through him, haha.
In addition to the pea treatment someone else suggested, you can add a little bit of Epsom salt to the fish's water (About one tablespoon per 10 gallons). This should help him pass along the stuff that stuck. After he appears to return to normal size (It may be more than 2-3 days... Be patient, though -- I can guarantee he won't starve to death. ^_^), slowly put him back on the food. Do 1-2 pellets a day then work your way up to the healthy serving of 5-6 pellets a day.
C.G.
EDIT: Yes, MagicMan (below) is right -- Epsom salts can be a bit harsh, so only do it if the pea treatment doesn't work. I should have specified this but didn't think to. x_x I've had good luck with the Epsom salt method, so forgot to mention that bloat can be remedied in other ways, too.
If the scales are sticking out, it isn't bloated, it's a disease called dropsy and you need to treat it fast!
For true bloating, take a pea and cut it in half and leave it in the tank. The betta will pick at it and it cures constipation. Seriously!
I don't think your betta is bloated. I used to feed my bettas almost 10 pellets a day. It sounds more like dropsy. Get some medication from the pet store.
Yep, the english pea treatment can certainly work. I would just thaw out a frozen pea and split the skin to squeeze the soft inside stuff in the the bettas tank or bowl.
Epsom salts can be a bit harsh, so I would save that as a last resort personally, but it can work very well.
MM
Mix some pepto-bismal into the tank
In addition to the peas which are honestly like a miracle for constipated fish, if you could put him in a warmer area or put a light on him to warm the water the heat will help the food to pass as well. If he doesn't seem active and normal within a few days three is a medication available at most petstores called Bettafix Remedy. It's in a small white bottle with a purple label. It works magic, no kidding.
But my question is...is there anything I can feed it that will help the fish pass its food? It hasnt done that in a few days.
Answers:
Be sure it's not dropsy first. If the scales are sticking out, then the fish is unfortunately doomed. However, I don't think you're talking about dropsy -- just a guy who's eaten a little too much and needs a little help getting it all through him, haha.
In addition to the pea treatment someone else suggested, you can add a little bit of Epsom salt to the fish's water (About one tablespoon per 10 gallons). This should help him pass along the stuff that stuck. After he appears to return to normal size (It may be more than 2-3 days... Be patient, though -- I can guarantee he won't starve to death. ^_^), slowly put him back on the food. Do 1-2 pellets a day then work your way up to the healthy serving of 5-6 pellets a day.
C.G.
EDIT: Yes, MagicMan (below) is right -- Epsom salts can be a bit harsh, so only do it if the pea treatment doesn't work. I should have specified this but didn't think to. x_x I've had good luck with the Epsom salt method, so forgot to mention that bloat can be remedied in other ways, too.
If the scales are sticking out, it isn't bloated, it's a disease called dropsy and you need to treat it fast!
For true bloating, take a pea and cut it in half and leave it in the tank. The betta will pick at it and it cures constipation. Seriously!
I don't think your betta is bloated. I used to feed my bettas almost 10 pellets a day. It sounds more like dropsy. Get some medication from the pet store.
Yep, the english pea treatment can certainly work. I would just thaw out a frozen pea and split the skin to squeeze the soft inside stuff in the the bettas tank or bowl.
Epsom salts can be a bit harsh, so I would save that as a last resort personally, but it can work very well.
MM
Mix some pepto-bismal into the tank
In addition to the peas which are honestly like a miracle for constipated fish, if you could put him in a warmer area or put a light on him to warm the water the heat will help the food to pass as well. If he doesn't seem active and normal within a few days three is a medication available at most petstores called Bettafix Remedy. It's in a small white bottle with a purple label. It works magic, no kidding.
How do you get your oscars to like you?
Answers:
Just by feedig them the right amount of food and putting them in a spacious tank you shouldnt have more than one oscar (unless they are male and female) in the tank
How to? How do you avoid it? Just feed them a little bit every time you come to the tank. They will be excited to see (the food) you. If your Oscars are small, be sure to caress and pet them. It makes it much easier to deal with them when they are older and you are trying to clean their tank. An angry Oscar is a bite to behold. Doesn't seem to give them problems with their scales at all.
FEED THEM!! works every time
You don't oscar fish are very very mean, and from what i've heard you cant train fish. There bite is very painfull. later experences! believe me! lol
How do you get rid of that brown fungus that spreads on my fish tank?
Answers:
You are probably seeing brown algae and it's fairly easy to control, but practically impossible to eliminate from a tank. To control it, keep the lighting to abut 8 hours a day and be sure to do very through gravel cleanings and you do your weekly water changes. A gravel vacuum siphon is the best tool for doing this quickly and easily. Just change 25-30% of the water weekly, take care not to over feed the fish and keep the lighting down and in short order you will see a huge difference in the amount of brown algae in the tank.
MM
You have to take out your fish and put them into a bowl of water, and clean the whole entire fish tank. And if you were to do it, I'd advice you to clean everything, from the bubble making thing, the plants, the rocks, bridges...everything. And you scrub scrub scrub!
There are only two really important thing to having a crystal clear fish tank.
1) Make sure no sunlight is hitting the tank. The direct light makes the algie grow like crazy!
2) If you are using tap water to fill the tank, you have to "condition" it. I use a product called AquaSafe. It takes the chlorene and other chemicals in tap water and somehow neutralizes it. Don't ask me how, I just know it works!
I have had a 55 gallon tank for about 15 years now. I fought algie for 10 years before I finally got someone to tell me these two things. I have never been really good at taking care of the tank and I don't do my water changes like I should. But I can tell you that over the past few years, I haven't cleaned the sides of my tank more than once every 4 or 5 months and it is VERY clear.
That fungus is mostlikely algae. Test your water to make sure everything is where it should be, most likly something is out of wack. Do water changes often and if this stuff doesn't work there are commercial remidies available at almost every pet store.
mix bleeching powder
What you see is NOT algae. It is called brown algae. It is actually diatoms. These will go away in a while. This is usually a lack of light or high amount of silicates. You can remove them with algae eating fish such as otocinclus. Please avoid the Chinese Algae eater. They will eat algae when young but will turn agressive when older, despite what the fish store says.
First you try to find out what it is exactly.Whether its algae or dirt..or something else. Once you know what it is (you say fungus) factors on which its growth is dependednt- and stop those factors - if you can do that without puting fish habitat at peril.
Till you find out this - best way is to clean the tank thoroughly while changing water.
Alternatively you can try SUKER FISH..it will clean the tank on its own - VERY SLOWLY
and for your info - this fish is not very cute one - but work wonders.
How do you get rid of red slime algea?
is it bad for oyur tank?
Answers:
Yes, it's bad.
You have a saltwater tank, is that correct? There are a couple of things you can do. The first would be to use a scraper and small siphon to try and get out as much as possible. Other safe methods are to increase your water circulation, reduce nutrients (water changes, phosphate pads, use a protein skimmer), add macroalgae to compete with it for nutrients, and don't overfeed your fish/inverts. Some folks also mention Redox potential (adding hydrogen peroxide or potassium permanganate to increase oxygen in the tank) but this needs to be done with care.
There are many red slime algae-eating shrimp here-http://www.azgardens.com/shrimpfactory.p... Hope this helps!
Answers:
Yes, it's bad.
You have a saltwater tank, is that correct? There are a couple of things you can do. The first would be to use a scraper and small siphon to try and get out as much as possible. Other safe methods are to increase your water circulation, reduce nutrients (water changes, phosphate pads, use a protein skimmer), add macroalgae to compete with it for nutrients, and don't overfeed your fish/inverts. Some folks also mention Redox potential (adding hydrogen peroxide or potassium permanganate to increase oxygen in the tank) but this needs to be done with care.
There are many red slime algae-eating shrimp here-http://www.azgardens.com/shrimpfactory.p... Hope this helps!
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