Posts by Lammchen

I like having a theme! If I'm going for pirates and mermaids then that is cute and fun. My dad just bought what he liked in the store and added things but it was kind of hodgepodge at that point.

What kind of fish do you want and how many? What size is the room you're putting it in? Go big or go home? I guess that phrase could work. We have had 50, 75 and 100 gallon tanks and the 100 gallon was too huge.

I don't have a pond but we do have the space for it. How much is the initial investment, does anyone know? Maintenance probably isn't a huge issue but I'd probably hire a pro to help out.

Quote from cy.paul

I think some eat lettuce or other veggies!

Mine would be how can you control colors of fish with food?

There are some color enhancing fish foods to buy that have the proper ratios of fat and carotene from what I've read. But also, be aware that they might not be as nutritious for your fish. You'll want to feed them other foods too.

My question is:

Do fish like to act silly?

I think 10 days is way too long to go without feeding your fish. Since most people have cameras in their homes now for security, you can also put a door lock with a code on the outside of your place and hire a pet sitter through a reputable company who will come to feed your fish for you. You will watch them on camera and know that everything is safe.

I would buy only items that are specific to the type of tank you have. You need to think about how things degrade over time and you want something for either your freshwater tank or for a saltwater and to know it will last many years.

That's absolutely amazing!! Do the panels on the bottom open up for storage? How long did it take you to get all this arranged the way you wanted it?

I think you're fine ethically to purchase the product for the reason you want to use them. Don't worry about the shops because that's not your responsibility to tell them how to run their business. Buying a couple of the products isn't going to cause them one way or another to sell or not sell their wares. Maybe other people plan on doing the same thing as you?

I didn't know they still encouraged small bowls for bettas? My mom had one that lasted for years and she had a small aquarium but it wasn't as small as the ones in the photos in this thread. There was a lot of room for the fish to swim in and he actually "played" with my mom so it was cute and you knew he was happy.

I'd be concerned about making my own hood because of the materials that are used could not hold up over time. Then you'd have to buy a new hood anyway or make another and it's not as cost effective.

There are some videos on YouTube for making your own hoods and wow, those don't look cheap to me with the cost of the supplies.

I like this Wood Canopy for Tanks Video. It looks classy compared to some of the others!

Invest in a whole house generator or even a standalone generator is something to look into. Your tank wasn't cheap to buy or to fill so think of it as an investment. You want to keep that investment safe and you care for the lives of your fish. We have a whole house generator that automatically clicks on when we lose power. It's worth it.

When I was a kid I was guilty of overfeeding the fish. My concern was always for the little ones who weren't as aggressive as our big angel fish and I wanted everyone to be happy in the tank. But I soon learned how messy all that food at the bottom left things. The little fish will find the food so my concerns weren't valid.

Did that clear things up? Any gravel or sand you have on the bottom can have dust as well that could cause the water to not be clear. How long did it take to clear up once you figured out what it was that made it cloudy?

How long do these battery ones last? Do you need to replace the entire pump or just the battery once it will no longer take a charge? In the end, is it really worth it?

Every fish tank is going to need regular cleanings. The fish, the food, the plants and even light will all affect what happens on the inside of the tank. You want to keep the fish healthy so you'll do the same types of things you'll do for your inside tanks.

After reading this thread, I guess I don't know all the technical names of the algae eaters like I thought! We had 3 or 4 different kinds in our tank and they were mostly just ugly ones that swam at the bottom. We've had Otos before and some bristlenose pecos (looking at the official names online). Mollies and barbs are known to eat algae too and I loved having those in the tanks.

Most of my dad's friends had freshwater tanks, so it just made sense that we got one too to join the crowd. It was fun driving around with the group to different pet stores in search of that elusive fish they wanted for their tanks! We'd spend hours in a big store wandering around and staring at tanks.

Tiger barbs are some of my favorite schooling fish. There is another breed of fish that I can't remember the name offhand and I can't even remember if they're in the schooling category. Tiger barbs are really cool and you have to remember to get them in groups of 5 or 6 so that they can hang out together. They can be a little aggressive so that's something to watch out for unfortunately.

Turtles like to have fun so don't just rely on a tank. My friend has a turtle and she has various "play yards" for him to have fun in and then the tank is for sleeping and when she's away. She also takes him outside to play and has even taken him for walks which is kind of fun.

Quote from Muneeb Naseer

When it comes to the actual amount of food you should feed, the first thing to consider is the type of fish you own. Different fish require different amounts of food, and so you should try to stick to the guidelines given by the fish breeders themselves. If you own a goldfish, for instance, you should feed it about five times a day, for about a month and a half, and then three times a day for the next two months. Then, you should feed your goldfish about twice a day for the next six months and then once every three days for the next six months.

I really had no idea about goldfish and the high amount of feedings! No wonder my carnival wins never lasted!

I agree that size and type of fish would correlate to how much food is necessary. Overfeeding will cause a lot of crud to build up in the tank and underfeeding will starve them.