BurntSnow wrote:RTR and seven, thanks so much. This definitely cleared a lot up.
As far as confusion, everything was easily understandable, but my brain turned off at-
"On current: Current is critical to tanks. It moves water through our filters where undissolved particles are trapped in sponges or fiber mats for later removal, and where dissolved metabolites which are hazardous to fish are detoxific to less harnful forms by the nitrogen cycle bacteria."
I'll look over it again, it's probably a lot more understandable than it looks.
Basically, the water movement forces the detritus to become mobile and pass through the filter media, where the majority of the beneficial bacteria live, so they can do their job of breaking it down to the less toxic nitrate, what would normally "fester" in stagnant water and pollute the water.
Filters will have sponges, poly pads, ceramic beads etc. with a high porosity, that equals to more surface area in a small amount of space, that still allows waterflow, for the bacteria to cling to.
Lol! I'm, like, bursting. I can't wait until I get my puffer! I'll post pics when it's all set up. In the meanwhile, I think I'll be on here for a while .
I couldn't have done this without you guys. Thanks so much.
I used to shop at the best fish store i had ever sen Unfortunately they are not the same anymore - the owner retired and it has gone belly up once and changed a lot.under its current management.
They had F-8s in light BW, with real marine mix. Unfortunately, the Palembang's I bought from them was also in light BW! Pobody's nerfxt.
I am a compulsive teacher. I learned early in my lab career that folks can do their jobs better if they really understand what and why they are doing what they are told to do, and what the expected and allowable limits are. In two of my longest jobs, teaching (staff and visiting scientists) was 1/3 to 1/2 of my workload. Some folks did not want to learn - they were not lasting staff for me. I am compelled to do the same for fish - i want to know, and if I know i like to share. But I am not great at avoiding chem-speech or metabolism-speech or physiology-speech. If I m not clear, tell me and I try alternate language whenever possible. But like any area involving living things, this hobby does have its own language, which you will with time learn without realizing it. But when it is all new, it is harder. Fishkeeeping is pretty easy. Some fish are difficult, all have their quirks. The family which we talk about here is as quirky as the come - in phylogenetic charts, they have no close relatives (uncommon to rare for successful families). So here you need all the basics of fish care needed for any fish, plus a lot more to fit theses beasts' quirks. Then all of sudden, it is pretty easy also.The first thing to learn is that some families are not "community" fish. Puffers and their kin are not, Cichlids are not either. Some of both will survive a while in such situations, but it is never optimum for them. Solitary territorial fish in the wild do not get lonely or depressed as singletons in captivity. Fish which school in the wild may well need conspecific (other fish of the same species) with them in their tanks in captivity. Two different lifestyles in the wild need in captivity to match their wild adult conditions.. You cannot change hard-wired nature because you have a fish in a glass box. Puffer fry school. mayure puffers rarely do. One FW species we keep well does school loosely. Some SW to BW puffers do also, but we cannot match the wild scale they need in many private homes. So we do not try, if we are smart. Attempts at smaller than wild scale generally end in death for some or many of the fish involved. Puffers are not Rasboras or small Tetras. Accept that and your life will be easier.
. As far as getting a tank set up, I think I'm about ready.
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