Freshwater Daily Questions & Answers (FAQs)
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We ask that, before submitting, you refer to Neale Monk's: Before You Write; A Checklist of Common Problems with Freshwater Aquaria, Bettas, Goldfish, and Freshwater Turtles (Terrapins), Tips on Asking Questions, Ask the WWM Crew a Question, FAQs on FAQs. EDFP, TBPFWFAQs,	Melanotaenia splendida australis Castelnau 1875, the Western Rainbowfish. Northwestern Australia. Males to four inches, females about an inch shorter. Freshwater. Cond.s: pH 6.5-8, temp. 22-28 C. A group of males in captivity.  Full Size Desktop Daily Pic & Archive Link

Male Crowntails or Girls with Attitude?  11/05/09
Hi there! I'm having some Crowntail confusion. I recently came across a batch of Crowntails that look like females but act like males.
<There are fairly aggressive, territorial animals.>
They are very aggressive (as both male and female Crowntails are) and they are displaying their opercula (I've seen females do this as well).
<Indeed.>
They are not brightly colored (not pastels), but dark rich, red, blues, purples, etc. Very striking colors.
<Sound charming.>
Anyway, I'm very confused because they are very energetic with their displays, yet they have the shorter Crowntail caudal fin.<I see.>
Even the ones who seem rounder like females are also vigourously displaying. They are full adults, so they are done maturing.
<Since males are sent out to pet shops individually bagged, it seems to be rather unlikely they'd mix up males and females. I will make the observation here that mature females tend to show their white genital
papillae, even when not actively spawning, so a batch of female fish would have at least some fish with this obvious feature visible.>
Is there a male short fin Crowntail type that is out now?
<I'd expect so. I'm not an expert on these fancy Bettas, but my understanding is that some breeders do produce shorter-finned versions.
Cheers, Neale.>

Re African clawed frog hlth., beh.    11/05/09
Hello my African clawed frog was pretty bloated but the bloat went away
<That was lucky.>
I have 2 questions he is still losing skin why?
<In very small amounts, this is normal. But if the frogs are constantly shedding, there may be a problem with diet or water conditions. Do read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/FrogsArtNeale.htm
Keep an open mind, and pay particular attention to water chemistry, water quality, and aquarium size. The fact your frog was bloated in one point strongly suggests an underlying problem.>
And please tell me why he is some of the time he is at the top of my tank with his head sticking out
<It is natural for them to rest among floating plants, basking under the sunshine. They will try to do the same thing in captivity. Cheers, Neale.>

Convict cichlids breeding information  11/05/09
Hai,
This is Pavan (India).
<Hello again, Pavan,>
I would like the details of how to breed convict cichlids at home.
<Pretty much just add water! Seriously though: provided you give them good quality water and space for a pair to settle down, they will spawn. They are extremely good parents, and raising these fry is easy.>
And i like to raise a good bunch of fry.
<Do it right, and you'll have hundreds.>
What are the requirements needed and the food.
<Convict cichlids need hard, basic water at middling temperature. Aim for 10-20 degrees dH, pH 7.5-8, 25 degrees C. A pair can be kept in a tank around 100 litres without problems. As with all cichlids, 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite are critical, and nitrate levels should be as low as possible, certainly no more than 20 mg/l. Convicts are omnivores and eat flake, pellets, wet-frozen bloodworms, live brine shrimps, cooked peas, sushi Nori, cooked spinach, etc. Newly-hatched Convict fry will take finely powdered flake food (e.g., Hikari First Bites) and liquid fry food (e.g., Liquifry).>
How to distinguish between male and female. what are the cares to be taken to not to hurt any of the pair.
<Juvenile fish are difficult to sex. When sexually mature, males are much bigger than the females. Males also tend to have longer anal and dorsal fins. Males sometimes develop a "nuchal hump". Sexually mature females are usually more colourful, with yellow and blue markings on their dorsal fins and anal fins.>
Pls do the needful. I have a good male which is very aggressive in nature and it bullies all other fish in my tank.
<Normal. These are not fish for community tanks, and should be kept with larger cichlid species that are similarly aggressive. I kept my Convicts in a 750 litre aquarium with a Red Devil, a Jaguar Cichlid, and some very big catfish species.>
Help me out. Cheers for the answers.
<Cheers, Neale.>

FW shrimp tank   11/3/09
Hello All Knowing crew:
<Gosh!>
I so much enjoy this site and had a question for you.
<Fire away.>
Essentially, is my tank still cycled? Here's the situation. My 10 gallon has completed cycling (been up for 8 weeks).
<Should be cycled by now, assuming there's been a supply of ammonia from somewhere. Simply running a tank with water but no livestock won't cycle the tank without a source of ammonia. The easiest way is to add a pinch of flake every couple days, just as if there were fish in there.>
I've decided to make this tank a shrimp and fry tank.
<Nice.>
It will be heavily planted with lots of nooks for hiding. Due to my need to redecorate (for the shrimp to show up better, etc), I removed 3/4 of the gravel (which was 1 1/2 inch deep) and put 1 inch of another finer-grained gravel on top.
<Okay.>
I have an 8 week old sponge filter and a bio-wheel filter whose intake is covered with a pre-filter sponge. These have been running since the tank started. I originally smooshed the sponge filter into my larger
established tank to get the good bacteria going.
<Just to be clear, adding bacteria from another tank is great, but the bacteria will die back without "food" in the form of ammonia.>
I want to add Amano shrimp but wondered whether this tank is still cycled and safe for them.
<Assuming proper cycling, then yes. Shrimp are actually quite hardy, and I've stuck Cherry Shrimps into comparatively young, even new, aquaria and found they positively thrive. They produce very little ammonia themselves, and if the plants are healthy and growing, a balance establishes itself very quickly.>
I know the shrimp are sensitive and prefer an established tank.
<Not kept Amano Shrimps myself, but would assume they're comparable to Cherry Shrimps.>
Is my tank still safe? Any other things I should consider? By the way, the shrimp are on their way.
<Good luck!>
Thank you for considering my question.
-Janet
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: shrimp tank   11/3/09
Thank you for your very quick answer.
<You're welcome.>
I was worried that because I took out so much original gravel (and the good bacteria) I would have to start cycling again.
<Just to be clear here. Gravel from tanks with undergravel filters is a good source of bacteria, but from tanks with other types of filters it is much less useful. Only the very top layer of gravel from such tanks will
have the nitrifying bacteria we want, because they're very sensitive to low oxygen concentrations, and so can't live more than a few mm into gravel beds without undergravel filters. So while taking a handful of gravel is better than nothing, it's not as good as taking live media from a mature canister (or whatever) filter and putting it into the new filter.>
I cycled with 2 fish for the 6-8 week period.
<Should do the trick!>
Thanks from all of us!
<Cheers, Neale.>

white spots on Flowerhorn side fins   11/3/09
Hi Neale,
<Hello again, Amit,>
Thanks for the prompt reply..
<Happy to help.>
I am following the treatment pattern as suggested by you. The fish is responding well.
<Good. I take it you decided this was Ick/Whitespot (which salt helps) as opposed to Finrot (which salt doesn't help).>
Meanwhile I wanted to ask you should I step down his diet for the next 7 days and am I advised to make 25 percent water change everyday while adding salt.
<I wouldn't "step down" feeding, but I *would* check you aren't overfeeding, and that the food you're offering is nutritious. For many cichlids, regular offerings of green foods are beneficial, and cooked or
tinned peas are ideal. So try offering some of these. There's also a good argument for not feeding on one day each week (rather good for humans too, but most of us don't have the will power!). It is too easy to overfeed fish. Because they do not have efficient digestive systems, most of the excess food goes straight out of their bodies. So by cutting back the food, you won't slow down their growth. Simply offer a sensible amount of food. One or two meals per day, and not so much anything is left after one minute. The fish should not look fat; it should simply have a slightly rounded (convex) belly, but mustn't look swollen or as if it has eaten too much.>
Awaiting ur reply eagerly
Thanks in advance
Amit
<Cheers, Neale.>

Worms and egg laying?   11/3/09
Hello,
<Hiya - Darrel here>
I have two juvenile red eared sliders. I caught them in the wild. When I moved them into the tank I noticed the female releasing translucent strings about a half an inch long. They were slightly curved and I thought they were shedding their claws but I'm not sure if that is possible. I thought it was turtle feces but it ended up not being the case. My question is, what could it possibly be? The objects didn't move at all so I didn't think
that they were worms. But could they be?
<My guess would be eggs from any number of internal parasites they may be carrying.>
<The key here is to suction them out, pay special attention to water quality (in other words, break the life cycle by not letting those eggs hatch) and the problem will likely solve itself in a couple months>
Also, my female has been digging in the sand as if to lay eggs, and I left her to it. Later I checked the sand and there were no eggs. What should I make of all of this?
<Well, if she's a juvenile, then I doubt she's carrying eggs. The problem is that turtles mature by size and sometimes size is relative. She'd be 4 1/2 to 5 inches normally before she'd be fertile. If she's smaller than
that it's probably what it looks like, a false nesting behavior and nothing to worry about. The good thing about Sliders and the Emydid turtles is that they rarely, if ever, get egg bound. If she is pregnant (I doubt it,
but IF she is) and she can't find the proper nesting site, she'll either re-absorb them or just drop them in the water. The eggs wouldn't survive of course, but it wouldn't damage her.>
<Here's a link to basic care -- best of luck to you!>
<http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/RESCareBarton.htm>

RES with white spots   11/3/09
Hi,
<Hiya right back - Darrel here>
I have a 5 inch, male, Red Eared Slider who has lots of white spots on his top shell. I recently noticed that the spots are spreading. The white spots have the same hardness as the shell and don't smell bad or discharge pus.
<Presumably they're not simply mineral deposits, but never rule that out.
Do they scrub off with an old toothbrush and a tiny bit of soap (very tiny bit)?>
Also the edges of his shell are turned up slightly and transparent
<That happens as the shell grows and the scutes prepare to shed. It's normal>
The bottom shell also has one white spot on it. What could this be?
<There's a link below to treating common illnesses and I'd suggest you read and treat for fungal infection. It's a non invasive treatment that won't hurt him if it's not fungus.>
Thanks for helping, Herpgirl
<Yer welcome!>
<http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/treating%20RES%20Dis%20DarrelB.htm
>

Butterfly Koi; indoors    11/3/09
Hello I have a 180 gallon aquarium (8ft long) and would like to know if i could keep butterfly koi?
<Depends what you mean by "keep". Will they live in such a tank? In theory, yes, given adequate space and very generous filtration (we're talking at least 8 times the volume of the tank in turnover per hour) Koi Carp can be kept indoors. However, very few people are able to provide the conditions they need as indoor fish. I'm a bit confused by your aquarium being 8 feet long and yet only containing 180 gallons. Let's say this tank is 8 x 3 x 3 feet, that's 72 cubic feet in total, or 538 gallons. So something's amiss here. A tank 8 by 2 x 2 feet would only be 32 cubic feet, or a mere 240 gallons, but you can't keep adult Koi in tanks two feet wide since they get to more than two feet in length! So you might want to go back, measure your aquarium, and then ask your question again. A 538 gallon tank would be acceptable for Koi, being essentially an indoor pond, though you would need massive filtration. Whenever I've seen Koi kept indoors successfully, by
which I mean they reach full size and live a normal life, they're in an indoor pond coupled to a pond-grade filter system. Now, I'll also make the point that on the whole Koi aficionados tend to look down (being polite here!) on Butterfly Koi. They are not acceptable at Koi shows for example, and they cannot be graded (which, among other things, means the quality of Butterfly Koi varies wildly, and as with anything in life, you often get what you pay for. Butterfly Koi are essentially absent from the trade in Europe and Japan, and are really only popular in the US, where tastes are somewhat different ("less snobby" or "less discerning" depending on your point of view). What I'm saying then is that Butterfly Koi, like all Koi,
are extremely demanding when kept indoors -- they're pretty demanding kept outdoors, too! -- and without any sort of quality control, it's all too easy to end up with fish with congenital defects, poor disease resistance, and so on (think of puppy mills in terms of dog breeding, and apply that to breeders cranking out Butterfly Koi). Do your research, budget carefully for the needs of the fish, and take some time to locate a reputable breeder of Butterfly Koi who can supply you with good quality fish. Cheers, Neale.>
(RMF, what do you think of these long-finned fish?) <<As time has gone by, I've "gotten used to" this variety, and it is indeed included in some Koi shows here in the U.S. nowadays. However, not "my cup of tea". BobF>>

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>>

Re: Fish flashing and having spasms (RMF, any better ideas?). FW substrate choices    11/3/09
<<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>>
<Bob, you are quite right about sand, which was why I stressed "smooth" silica sand, which *is* safe with Corydoras, as opposed to "sharp" silica sand, which isn't. But the point is an important one, and worth restating.>
I note that Carib Sea do describe their sands as "burrower friendly" or "soft belly safe" on their web site; wish other manufacturers of aquarium-grade sands and gravels would do likewise. Cheers, Neale.>
<<I certainly agree! BobF>>

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.>