I recently used the method Barbie described without any ill side effects. Well, I actually did things a little different: Day 1 - 50% water change / 1 tsp salt per gallon Day 2 - 30% water change / 1 tsp salt per gallon Day 3 - nothing Day 4 - 30% water change / 1 tsp salt per gallon Day 5 - nothing...

I've been treating my tank with salt for three days now. I've been following the recipe recommended by a number of people both here on Planet Catfish as well as other sites: 1 tsp salt per gallon daily for 3 days along with 30% water changes each day Continued water changes thereafter to remove salt...

The only "problem" I've had with sand in my tank is that my sailfin often has a whole heck of a lot of sand in his waste. By the end of the week he's re-plumbed the tank with sandy tubes. It's really no big deal. It doesn't seem to bother him at all. And like the others said, he'll dig a l...

One of the cats that was climbing the glass is still having a little trouble (same skittish behaviour), but the other has settled down a bit. I think that these two might have swam over some undisolved salt crystals (accidentally dumped some in, I dissolved the rest prior to adding it to the tank), ...

Like an idiot, I added salt to my tank to help treat for some ick (1 tsp/gal) without checking out how my pictus cats would react. Well now that it's done, two of the three are swimming up and down one side of the tank. However, the third cat is swimming in it's normal spot. Can anyone offer some ad...

I'd recommend that you take a look at the Eheim 2028. I've got two 2128's (same thing with an integrated heater) on my 135g. They're great filters and are very easy to prime.

As soon as I saw the flashing I ran my water tests. 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, and Nitrate about 20-30 ppm. Didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary considering it's time for the regularly scheduled water change. I kept the lights off, and haven't noticed any flashing or abnormal behavior today. I'l...

Thanks for the salt treatment suggestion Barbie. I don't think the tank's had an outbreak of Ich, but I'm watching a few of the fish carefully. They're displaying some symptoms (some occasional flashing and such), but not enough to make me sure it's Ich. I haven't seen any characteristic white spots...

I've got a bottle of Maracide and I'm trying to fully understand the directions: "... Use 10 ml per 10 gallons of water." Is this supposed to be a one time thing? Am I supposed to retreat the following day(s)? I went to the Mardel Labs website, but found it all but useless for me. Any sugg...

I believe that UGF's have generally been given a bad reputation by the majority of the aquatic community, especially when they're used to "trap" waste and debris in the substrate. However, I was considering using one with a reverse flow. Basically I'd attach the output from my cannister fi...

I can't tell you anything about wholesale prices, but in my area I've found that at the locally owned lfs bristlenose plecos sell for about $15 for a female, $20 for a male. These fish were about 2". However, I've purchased my two bristlenose (don't know about specific identifications of their ...

You know, the word on how much to feed is almost always "as much as the fish will eat in 5 minutes." I try to follow this advice with most of my fish, but not my plecos (a gibby and two ancistrus sp.). I usually toss in about 3-5 algae wafers a night. There's always something left on the b...

I'm going to hijack this thread for a minute... I've got 3 pictus in my tank. Each one of them has established its own little territory and has found a cave or ledge it likes to hang out under/around. They generally don't stray too far from their hangout even with the tank lights off. These pictus r...

How long have you had him? I too bought a butterfly pleco that's grown into a nice little monster. Fortunately I knew he was a gibby beforehand. I bought mine at about 1.5" inches back in February (I think). While I haven't measured him in quite a while, I'm guessing he's close to 6"-7&quo...

Have you tried to contact any animal health or farm supply stores in your area? Although I'm in the US, I found my Levasole at such a store (over-the-counter) as a sheep dewormer. Worked great!

I could be way off here, but it seems to me that you wouldn't need to create channels equivalent to 1/2" pipe. You could just use some acrylic strips to hold the sheet off the bottom of the tank creating a single void (filled with water of course). Your intake sponges would then feed down throu...

I'm rather short on experience, too, but it seems like your gibby is growing properly. I bought my gibby in February at about the same size as yours. He's close to 5" SL now. I'll have to take him out and measure him tonight. If this growth rate continues (and I don't think it will as IME the g...

That's a good idea. It's a little more aesthetically pleasing, too. I was trying to think up ways to hide the pvc pipe so it wouldn't be an eyesore.

Thanks Silurus! I'll have to head down to Home Depot after work today.

I need to get a better cave for my Pseudomystus siamensis. While I've got plenty of driftwood and slate providing cover for my plecs and pictus cats, there isn't a totally dark cave for the siamese cat. I'm thinking of getting a black pvc pipe for him, but am unsure about the best dimensions (length...

One thing I forgot to mention is that you might find that as your oscars grow, your 55g will become too cramped for them along with a large pleco. You might also want to check out a forum dedicated to oscars. There are a number of them around, such as Oscarfish and Oscars-r-us. Good luck.

I'd say it depends on the size of your oscars and the size of your pleco. A lot, if not the far majority, of oscar owners keep a pleco in their tank. Generally its a large pleco such as a common (Hypostomus punctatus) or sailfin (Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps). Occasionally you'll come across a bristle...

Where can I find one of these fish? Beautiful!

I've got pool filter sand in my tank. You can get some from a swimming pool supply store or sometimes a place like Home Depot for a fair bit less than your lfs is selling it for. Although if your going for colored sand (anything beyond brown or off-white), the lfs is probably your best bet.

Must be rough to have to go out to the river and catch your own stock

Wish I had that problem, too!

I think I'd like to have a non-catfish "centerpiece" in the tank to compliment the main catfish (currently my gibby since he's the biggest fish in the tank and has such a beautiful dorsal fin). I think FatCat's severum's would fill such a role in his tank. Something so that non-catfish-lov...

... and rest near the surface or in mid water at night; unlike many South American tetra's that rest on the bottom. That is a nice quality, especially when the tank bottom will be so active at night. Is it a problem, or just personal preference, when it comes to keeping African and SA fish together...

For those of you who keep "other" fish with your catfish, what type of fish do you have with your prized cats? I've got a 135g tank that's home to the following catfish: 1 Asian Bumblebee 3 Pictus Catfish 1 Sailfin Plec 2 Ancistrus sp(?) I've got two oscars in there now, but am looking to ...

It could be that your water needs some more oxygen. I've heard that in some cases when there isn't enough oxygen in the water, some plecs (and other fish too) will rise to the surface for additional air.

What exactly does "sunken eyes" mean. Are the eyes literally withdrawn into the fish's head? Do you have a picture or two you could post? It might help me avoid such fish in the future (haven't had any trouble, yet)! Thanks!