Search found 363 matches

by nmonks
Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:56 am
Forum: Freshwater Puffers
Topic: amazon?SAP puffers=comunity tank?
Replies: 3
Views: 683

Re: amazon?SAP puffers=comunity tank?

SAPs aren't "community fish" in the same way as, say, platies. You can't throw them into a mixed collection of fish species and expect them to behave themselves. SAPs are nippy, no question. Anything slow enough to be bitten WILL be bitten. In my experience that includes things like platie...
by nmonks
Sun Jun 06, 2010 5:48 am
Forum: Freshwater Puffers
Topic: Average prices of Amazon puffers??
Replies: 3
Views: 431

Re: Average prices of Amazon puffers??

In the UK at least, around £8-12. As far as plants go, they're midwater fish, so the only plants they really appreciate are ones that offer overhead shade, e.g., floating plants. Other types of plants will be "explored" while they're foraging, so use whatever tall plants you want. Cheers, ...
by nmonks
Fri Jun 04, 2010 6:24 am
Forum: Brackish Tanks
Topic: Snails in Brackish Tank
Replies: 7
Views: 1295

Re: Snails in Brackish Tank

Melanoides tuberculata can live in up to about half-strength seawater, so they generally do perfectly well in brackish water aquaria. Now, if they suddenly appear on the glass, it's important to consider why they're doing that. By default these snails are almost entirely nocturnal and they rarely e...
by nmonks
Sun May 30, 2010 5:06 pm
Forum: Freshwater Tanks
Topic: New tank + Re-done Tank
Replies: 15
Views: 1596

Re: New tank + Re-done Tank

Halfbeaks are my favourite fish! Lots about them on my web site . From personal experience I've found they mix fine with Carinotetraodon irrubesco , and will breed in tanks containing those puffers given space and floating plants. SAPs usually work fine too, saving the occasional nipped fin. But I w...
by nmonks
Sun May 30, 2010 11:25 am
Forum: Brackish Puffers
Topic: gsp tankmates
Replies: 6
Views: 728

Re: gsp tankmates

It's not a great combination, no. The thing with GSPs is that they're fin biters, the fins of other species being a natural part of their diet. On top of that, the males are likely territorial. So while some people have peaceful GSPs that work fine in community settings, most people aren't so lucky....
by nmonks
Thu May 27, 2010 11:57 am
Forum: Brackish Tanks
Topic: Migrating FW tank to BW
Replies: 8
Views: 782

Re: Migrating FW tank to BW

Freshwater bacteria survive up to SG 1.003 @ 25 C, or 6 ppt, at which point they start to die off and get replaced by saltwater bacteria. See for example here: Nitrifying Bacteria Facts When raising the salinity from freshwater to brackish, you either keep it low enough the freshwater bacteria are h...
by nmonks
Thu May 27, 2010 11:06 am
Forum: Brackish Tanks
Topic: Migrating FW tank to BW
Replies: 8
Views: 782

Re: Migrating FW tank to BW

Hi Jeni, What RTR argues is that they do better in low-end brackish than freshwater. He hasn't compared SG 1.003 against SG 1.005 or SG 1.008 and declared any one of them better, so far as I know. Cheers, Neale A decade-long experiment by our Mentor, RTR, Concluded that F8s do best in a SG of 1.005.
by nmonks
Thu May 27, 2010 10:47 am
Forum: Brackish Tanks
Topic: Migrating FW tank to BW
Replies: 8
Views: 782

Re: Migrating FW tank to BW

If you're after figure-8s, why not keep the salinity at SG 1.003 @ 25 C, in which case your freshwater filter bacteria will adapt just fine. Do 20-25% water changes every weekend, replacing the water in the aquarium with SG 1.003 water. After a few weeks you should have salinity close enough to 1.00...
by nmonks
Sat May 22, 2010 5:53 am
Forum: Brackish Puffers
Topic: How fast freshwater to marine? (gsp)
Replies: 20
Views: 1828

Re: How fast freshwater to marine? (gsp)

I agree. The GSP itself could be dumped in medium salinity brackish from freshwater conditions without the least bother. But the filter bacteria are a whole other thing. From freshwater to about 10-15% salinity, i.e, around SG 1.004, your freshwater bacteria will be in place. But above that, the fre...
by nmonks
Sat May 22, 2010 5:05 am
Forum: Brackish Puffers
Topic: Unusual tankmates for GSP?
Replies: 9
Views: 949

Re: Unusual tankmates for GSP?

There are many cichlids that thrive in brackish water, as well as some that do well in seawater. Indeed, several species are found in the sea in the wild. Admittedly not in deep water, but in lagoons and such, but in fully marine conditions nonetheless. Their salt tolerance is in fact one of the mos...
by nmonks
Thu May 20, 2010 3:53 am
Forum: Brackish Puffers
Topic: lights?
Replies: 15
Views: 1414

Re: lights?

Fish use light in multiple ways. For example, they use light for orientation, and try to keep the brightest light above them so that their countershading works most effectively. If you've ever seen if in a dark tank in brightly lit room, you'll see they lean over to one side, trying to balance the l...
by nmonks
Mon May 10, 2010 5:40 pm
Forum: Freshwater Puffers
Topic: Auriglobus modestus or silus
Replies: 12
Views: 1752

Re: Auriglobus modestus or silus

I'm going to break ranks here. I don't think you can tell these two species apart by looking at live specimens. I've read Klaus Ebert in the Aqualog book, but I'll mention here that Kottelat further distinguishes Auriglobus silus by looking at its fin rays as well as the shape of the caudal peduncle...
by nmonks
Mon May 10, 2010 5:20 pm
Forum: Hospital
Topic: I had no idea this was out there.
Replies: 14
Views: 1325

Re: I had no idea this was out there.

What are called "zoonoses" -- diseases caught from animals -- are actually quite common. There are obvious cases in recent history of things being caught from farm animals for example, e.g., swine flu. Quite a few diseases we consider to be human diseases probably evolved only once we star...
by nmonks
Sun May 09, 2010 5:19 pm
Forum: Hospital
Topic: I had no idea this was out there.
Replies: 14
Views: 1325

Re: I had no idea this was out there.

Always a pleasure!

Cheers and good night, Neale
pufferpuggirl wrote:I love it, you always bring us back down to earth Neale, thank you once again. :grats:
by nmonks
Sun May 09, 2010 4:59 pm
Forum: Hospital
Topic: I had no idea this was out there.
Replies: 14
Views: 1325

Re: I had no idea this was out there.

The thing with "Fish TB" is its talked about rather more often than it actually occurs. Without doing some microscope work on tissue samples from the fish, no hobbyist can distinguish Mycobacterium marinum from any of the other Mycobacterium infections, of which several occur. Furthermore,...