Exotic Fish Forum

Overfeeding betta fish is the second most common way to make them sick. By following three simple rules you can keep you betta well fed, keep their water cleaner, and help them live a longer and happier life.

1) Do not feed your betta more than once a day

Bettas do not need to eat any more than that. In the wild, in the ditches and ponds of Asia, wild bettas sometimes go for days without food. Feeding your betta once a day is actually kinder than overfeeding them. Bettas and other aquarium fish do not know “when to say when” and they will eat until they get sick and will keep eating even after that.

2) Do not feed your betta a portion any larger than their eye

Your betta’s stomach is only a little bit larger than their eye. Giving them too much food will make their tank messier (so you will have to take the time to clean it more often) and it will strain their digestive system. Overfeeding will also make them less active and shorter their lifespan by a bit.

3) Vary what kinds of...

Upon visiting my local petstore I checked out behind a older gentleman who purchased several boxes of Safe-Guard 4 Canine Dewormer. The female cashier inquired if he ran a kennel or something thinking it was odd that he had several boxes. He kindly replied that he had Planaria in his freshwater shrimp tank and used the Canine Dewormer to erradicate it being this particular product contained Fenbendazole.

Interested I pardoned myself, and stated I was having the same issue with my 20gL (thread-like worms, Planaria, wigglers, whatever you want to call them...I had 2 types that I noticed) and that I too was trying to figure a way to remove them as I had read that they can kill "sting" shrimp and I had noticed a couple CRS that were deceased...which was odd because they looked fine/aka weren't missing body pieces like if the cpo's were to possibly "get" them.

He told me for my tank size to grab a box of the 8 in 1 Safe-guard 4 and to add a couple granules to the tank and once the nastys...

How To Keep Your Fish Healthy

Bringing Your New Fish Home:

One of the most important things you can do to keep your fish healthy is prepare the aquarium BEFORE bringing your new fish home.

>Make sure your aquarium is large enough to house your new fish once it is an adult. Cycle the aquarium, and provide adequate filtration, oxygen (with an airstone) and heating (if necessary).

>If you plan to move your fish into an aquarium that already holds other fish, set up a quarantine aquarium and keep your new fish in isolation for at least two weeks. During this time, look for signs of disease and treat the fish with medications (if necessary).

>Avoid decorations that have jagged edges to prevent tearing of fins.

>Decorate with real or fake plants. Real plants can be used, except with goldfish and cichlids, which will eat or uproot them.

>Provide plants to create a comfortable habitat.

>Before using new stones and gravel, wash them...

I had made this tutorial before just to give people ideas come the day you have to move. Not the only way, not claiming it to be the best way... just My way after experience from years on the trade.



and the 2nd part:

First, allow the snail to die. (You have other options too, but this is a family site)
Then, once the snail has died, allow the things in the tank to clean the dead tissue away.
Once this is done, remove the shell from the tank.

Poke a hole in the center of the shell to allow the liquid to enter freely.


Next, get a bottle and some H2O2


Fill the bottle with enough room for the shells to be able to float, also giving you room to shake the bottle.


Give this a week or two to bleach and clean the shells. Shake bottle once a day for the first three days, then once every other day.

Once the shells have been cleaned, remove them from bottle and let them air dry. I normally bake mine under a 100 watt lamp (almost touching the light), but...

I owe have of the work to Dawn for saying how to do it so thanks so much for your advise it worked out beautifully so i will post what she said.

I don't have pictures of us making it but i have pictures of the final project.

(Directions from Dawn)

1. have all equipment on tank that will reach into the water (ie filters, skimmers, tubing)

2. shape the eggcrate to the remaining opening-->I break a cardboard box down and lay it over the tank and use that for the template...thenuse a dremmel or similar to cut the eggcrate to the size/shape needed.

3. once cut and all equip is hanging on tank lay the eggcrate on top (same idea as glass canopy here).

4. put light fixture on with MOUNTING legs or hanging it a few inches about the tank using chain or similar.

5. NOW you can see how much spacing will be IN FRONT of the light fixture...I'd suggest if your using mounting legs on the fixture that you mark this area of the eggcrate with perm. marker and cut it leaving you two pieces..then...

It was not to long ago brought to our attention on the board here that Hydrogen Peroxide can be used safely and effectively for a partial fix to algae outbreaks.

There is no OVERALL cure for Algae outbreaks without hitting the source of the problem but the use of Peroxide can help combat some of the larger outbreaks WITHOUT tearing down your tank.

Warning - Following this method CAN pose risk to your fish. Understand that adding anything to your tank you take that risk! I did loose a few Cardinal Tetras because of my dosing but I would have lost them or more by moving the fish to another tank to break down and clean my tank!

Keep in mind that Hydrogen Peroxides chemical makeup at an elemental level is "H2O2" When it breaks down it coverts to "H20" and "O" (Water and a single molecular of Oxygen) which is MUCH safer than the Copper method of removing Algae as neither are poisonous to livestock.

From what I have read, Algae's Cellular Structure is MUCH LIKE Bacteria... We all...

Okay Leslie, I made this with you in mind. This is just a quick rundown without getting into all the technical stuff (co2 systems, types of lighting available, spectrums of bulbs, blah blah blah). Okay, I lied..I got into the blah blah blah just a lil :lol:

[help] So you have a small tank and are looking for plants that will work within it.

[dontknow] Your unsure of which plants stay small enough that you won't have to do constant pruning and you'd like a nice full appearance and maybe some recommendations on inhabitants that might work in a tank this size.

:idea: Well here's a quick rundown that may help!

If I had a small that I wanted to do rather easy here's what I'd do [thumb]

Note :arrow: First off..any substrate is probably going to be way to much for smaller tanks (ie 5g)! (Staple the bag of the leftovers, you might just want to do another one somewhere down the road).

SUBSTRATE:

Place at a depth of at least 3" when using looser...

When you first get your driftwood you like home, please first be sure that it is a hardwood and NOT a softwood as softwood breaks downs and rots in the aquarium at a very fast rate. Also it can leach sap into the aquarium. Stick with a clean piece of hardwood with no rotton or bug infested parts.

Once you have the piece you want use a clean brush to scrub the driftwood thoroughly to remove any dirt or debris. Do not use soap or any chemical cleansers. Any residue will poison your aquarium.

You then have 3 ways to sterilize the driftwood:
Boil it - The best way to go. By boiling it for a few hours it will help later getting that nice piece of wood to sink into your aquarium. If you have a pot big enough and a piece small enough, this is the way to go.

Bake it - For those large pieces bake the driftwood for several hours (depending on size 2-12 hours) at 200-215 degrees Fahrenheit. This will dry out the wood making it later harder to sink.

Bleach it -...