Search found 6108 matches

by RTR
Wed Jan 07, 2015 8:48 am
Forum: Hospital
Topic: Notice from water company
Replies: 9
Views: 2426

Re: Notice from water company

Pre-filtration with GAC should help and may clear the issues. Have you contacted the local supply folks directly by phone? They may be able to offer options best suited to your individual area and your individual requirements. Local US water companies IME tend to be very responsive to their clients'...
by RTR
Mon Aug 25, 2014 4:46 pm
Forum: Hospital
Topic: How long does it take for a puffed Pufferfish to unpuff?
Replies: 6
Views: 7070

Re: How long does it take for a puffed Pufferfish to unpuff?

But air inflation can be an entirely different. Air expulsion require the puffer to be positioned such that their release valve is pointed upward. Otherwise the air stays in and they can exhaust themselves trying to get rid of it. then owner assistance is required.
by RTR
Mon Aug 25, 2014 4:38 pm
Forum: Tricks of the Trade/Equipment Queries
Topic: Feeding tongs
Replies: 11
Views: 3459

Re: Feeding tongs

Finger or hand feeding puffers qualify their owners for the Darwin awards. Re-training them protects the owner, but it is better never to have them learn such associations. These are fish which can live a long time. As with kids and land pets, early training matters.
by RTR
Mon Aug 25, 2014 4:12 pm
Forum: Freshwater Puffers
Topic: CO2 in dwarf puffer tank?
Replies: 7
Views: 2986

Re: CO2 in dwarf puffer tank?

FYI: All photosynthesis requires carbon (chemical symbol C). Submerse aquatic plants get this most easily from dissolved CO2 gas. But if you have any surface current at all, air exchange at the surface should provide sufficient CO2 for such a small tank. CO2 supplement is relatively easy unless you ...
by RTR
Sun Aug 24, 2014 11:38 am
Forum: Brackish Puffers
Topic: Possible Figure 8 Puffer (Tetraodon biocellatus) Rescue
Replies: 30
Views: 5431

Re: Possible Figure 8 Puffer (Tetraodon biocellatus) Rescue

If you opt for a hydrometer, make sure it will read low density BW. Not all models do that.
by RTR
Sun Aug 24, 2014 11:33 am
Forum: Brackish Tanks
Topic: HOB refugium snail breeder?
Replies: 5
Views: 1960

Re: HOB refugium snail breeder?

IMHO & IME a ten is way too small for a highly active fish such as an F-8, and it would quickly become polluted if you tried to couple it with a snail breeding tank, which is improper with brackish water in any case. Please re-think your plans before you shoot yourself (and a puffer) in the foot...
by RTR
Sun Aug 24, 2014 11:13 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Pick a puffer
Replies: 15
Views: 4784

Re: Pick a puffer

Why wait to upgrade the F-8s? Long-term they will be better off and healthier and more long-lived the sooner they are in their permanent home. I generally move from QT to the permanent home. I really believe that is a big part of how and why my fish tend to live long healthy lives. Folk who want con...
by RTR
Sun Aug 24, 2014 10:13 am
Forum: Freshwater Puffers
Topic: Dwarf Puffer Cleanup Crew
Replies: 16
Views: 9679

Re: Dwarf Puffer Cleanup Crew

I doubt that the quite small tanks under discussion could support one Otocinclus cat long term, much less several. Otos may be small, but they will actually outlive many DPs, if they are properly selected (never buy a hollow-bellied DP, QT in a tank w/algae - including some soft green glass algae if...
by RTR
Sat Aug 23, 2014 10:44 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Pick a puffer
Replies: 15
Views: 4784

Re: Pick a puffer

Fahakas are very attractive fish, but are also the largest puffer practical for most hobbyists. Starting out with a 2x2x6' tank is quite a subtantial commitment for most folks and IMHO should only be undertaken by folks with no intention of relocating anytine in the foreseeable future. I have had th...
by RTR
Fri Aug 22, 2014 11:27 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: NEW SERVER--We need YOUR Help!--UPDATE
Replies: 77
Views: 345056

Re: NEW SERVER--We need YOUR Help!--UPDATE

LOL! After I left the labs, I worked as a consultant project manager ($$$) but I never, ever touched the code - I just coordinated the folks who did and could - which is not helpful at all here. My very best coder wrote spaghetti code, but the users loved his stuff - everything looked so simple and ...
by RTR
Fri Aug 22, 2014 11:08 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Pick a puffer
Replies: 15
Views: 4784

Re: Pick a puffer

OK, I am reassured.

I like the looks of the Hairy puffers, but they are ones I have not personally kept. They seem to among the more out-going/active lurkers. They should be an interesting puffer and certainly take the prize for "weird fish".

FWIW.
by RTR
Fri Aug 22, 2014 10:47 am
Forum: Brackish Puffers
Topic: Giving up on F8's
Replies: 4
Views: 1501

Re: Giving up on F8's

I have kept quite a number of F-8s, and like Pufferpunk have found them quite easy and relatively long-lived. Puffers wasting away sound to me like diet, parasite problems, conflict with tankmates, or water problems. Have you treated any of these fish for intestinal parasites. It has been well over ...
by RTR
Fri Aug 22, 2014 10:20 am
Forum: Brackish Puffers
Topic: Veggie puffer
Replies: 4
Views: 1414

Re: Veggie puffer

GSPs are not as dedicated to live plants as some BW/SW puffers, but particular individuals I have kept have been know to eat FW plants. The Anubias group in the wild tend to be from rapis or other high-spray areas and seasonally emerse but not dry-land plants. I have not kept that particular cultiva...
by RTR
Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:41 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Pick a puffer
Replies: 15
Views: 4784

Re: Pick a puffer

How many years have you been keeping fish? How many and what size tanks have you had? What water conditions have you expeience with in tanks? Fresh water, brackish water, salt water (marine)? What other pets have been in your sole or primary care & responsibility? Without some information on you...
by RTR
Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:21 am
Forum: General Discussion
Topic: Dead live shrimps for feeding...
Replies: 5
Views: 1253

Re: Dead live shrimps for feeding...

I can only speak for myself, but I would never under any circumstances feed inverts which had been dead up to 12 hours without refrigeration or freezing to anything. Unrefrigerated or unfrozen "fresh" food is not food, it is garbage.

IMH & IME, YMMV