Recent content by plebian

I have a 9' tank and had one bully terrorize 3 other discus to the point they would not come out of hiding. Even after separating the bully with a divider, a week later the others would still not come out to eat. As I stated earlier, discus have personalities, and those personalities can range...

Just stop feeding them worms. It may take a week or two, but eventually they'll accept most foods. Going without for a couple of weeks will have no negative effect whatever, unless you're dealing with juveniles (under 9 months).

This is not unusual behavior at all. I've seen a single discus prevent as many as four others from eating (in a very large aquarium with food everywhere). It almost seems as if they are more interested in preventing others from eating than they are in eating themselves. I've often wondered what...

You currently have 24 very active fish in a 4' enclosure that includes a large centerpiece decoration. Personally, I'd remove the center piece to provide more open swimming space. I'd advise against adding any more fish regardless of size, unless you'd like to add a single species of nocturnal...

It certainly wouldn't bother the Betta, though you specifically ignored my comment about Bettas. You could keep easily keep three if you provided enough demarcation. Or an equal number of paired dwarf cichlids and a nice group of tetras, but your sarcastic reply doesn't really deserve a...

It's amazing to me that questions about tank size continue to come up. BIGGER IS BETTER. It doesn't really matter the size of the fish. There are very few species that are naturally confined to small spaces. Even Betta splendens will guard roughly one cubic meter of water in the wild. Yet...

That's a small tank not a large tank.

Not to be harsh, but the end of this hobby would be better than continuing as it has. The majority of fish keepers shouldn't be keeping fish, just like the majority of dog keepers shouldn't be keeping dogs. IMO, human beings shouldn't be allowed to keep "pets" unless they're licensed, having...

I use two 18" x 36" home-built UGFs using slotted acrylic sheets, one on each end of a 9' L-shaped 180 gallon tank. Each one is covered with 2" of 3mm quartz gravel and powered by a 900L/hour powerhead. Originally I used two 20 liter canister filters filled with 30 ppi foam, but became...

If you think about, capitalism is just a less violent means of warfare. The natural world is always in a state of war with itself. Herbivores kill plants, insectivores kill insects, and carnivores kill herbivores and insectivores. It's part of the process of evolution, and evolution is...

So you're an ornament hobbyist. Unfortunately common in the hobby, especially among discus keepers.

He could keep one pair of discus very nicely, along with a few dwarf catfish and a small group of tetras, e.g. Discus pairs don't come cheap though.

I've seen some sights in my day. It's difficult to say what was the most impressive. I experienced a night of lightening storms in the Sonoran desert in Mexico; and a crystallized forest in southwestern Germany one winter; a full moon night above a frozen lake surrounded by leafless trees...

Hell, it's that warm in our air conditioned house sometimes, because the A/C can't keep up. Just saying. The hottest I've ever been is when a buddy and me were trying to hitch a ride after crossing the border at Mexicali (with our surf boards). I checked a thermometer at a gas (petrol) station...

That's the consensus. My swords are unusual in that they are a very lanky variety, hybrid no doubt. And this has nothing to do with lighting. They were originally grown in pots, presumably in a greenhouse, and they've changed very little in the 6 weeks they've spent submerged. They are almost...