I have a pretty full expanse of floating water lettuce in my tank. The other day, I found to cories pointing nose-up in their roots. One swam away when I disturbed the plant, the other was dead. Were they trying to reach the surface for air? Is that why that one died? I had another cory die the a ...

I think they worked pretty well, the algae is all gone and hasn't come back. (probably shouldn't be saying that though..) Still has a bunch of Shinnersia in that tank, but has replaced some of it with cryptos and so far so good. It did require quite a bit of patience aswell though . I removed as ...

Thanks for the advice again, Darrel! I was never too set on the chemical route. It seems dangerous and in my small tank, it's especially risky. I have been trying to pull it out, but it's very slippery and falls apart easily. Plus it just grows right back. I'm gonna be visiting my LFS soon, so ...

Thanks; hopefully these plants will help to cut it back, because I've been reading horror story after horror story about Spirogyra. Everyone says it's next to impossible to kill, and what one thread says was effective another thread says is useless. People have tried bleach dips, week-long blackouts ...

I'm not sure how many of you keep plants in your tanks, given that this is a catfish forum, but I figured I'd ask anyway. I've got a case of the alleged algae from hell—spirogyra. It's a floating, filamentous nuisance that latches onto plants and never goes away. It seems almost as notorious as b ...

The Randall museum is a great little place, just not enough fish! I just need a bucket, then. I used the tank 'cause it was the first thing that came to mind, but you're right—I've actually been looking around for a replacement so that I can use the 5-gallon as a quarantine. That'll be especially h ...

Thanks for the advice; that link was really helpful! I just got some active yeast today—seemed like the easiest option. The daphnia definitely seem to be multiplying, so this is looking pretty good! There's some little white copepods in there too, probably cyclops.

I was at the Randall Museum (you know it?) opening a bag of feeder goldfish; one of the guys commented that it smelled like 6th Avenue Aquarium. You're right, they do have some pretty cool fish—black ghost knives and arowanas and even a nurse shark—but I'm still not taking chances. Ocean Aquarium, hu ...

Thanks again, Darrel! If I add the daphnia to the tank, is there any danger of the greenwater spreading? I wouldn't expect there to be, but I'd rather not take too many chances. Thanks for the link!

That fast? Grrr. Well, at least it's not an animal I like; I'm trying to get them out but they just keep coming back. I should set up a trap.

Oh, sweet, thanks! I'll be looking for some extra filter foam next visit to the LFS; I think I accidentally tossed my spare piece with the trash.

I never read Lord of the Rings, I'm sorry to say, and I haven't seen the movies in a while. To be fair, based on the site's name, I always pictured some sort of water planet populated only by catfish. But my friends and I figured a grizzled saloon suited the story pretty well. It is definitely ...

"Not the Synodontis! Anything but the Synodontis!"

Ooh, I haven't dabbled so much in that particular field—it's yet a mystery to me. Once I've toughened my catfish mettle with experience, maybe. I'm still very, very novice.

So, I was talking with some friends online about this site. It was kind of confusing and I don't totally understand where the conversation went myself, but somehow it ended up with this... short story of sorts. I haven't been on PlanetCatfish very long myself, so it might not be totally accurate ...

Last Saturday I noticed two or three little white balls scattered around the tank. I was excited—cory eggs at last! Monday confirmed this when I saw two of my pygmaeus enter the T-position (unsuccessfully—the female tipped over and lost purchase after a few seconds) and even lay an egg before my eye ...

I have a ZooMed external canister filter, and I was wondering if there was some way to replace the "head" of the intake tube. Right now it's this slotted box that keeps big pieces of plants out; I want to replace it with a sponge. Does this make sense? Would it impair the flow too much? If not, does ...

I only got into aquariums very recently (despite being enthusiastic about fish my whole life), so my first book was What Fish? A Buyer's Guide to Tropical Fish. Since then I've gotten: The 101 Best Tropical Fishes by Kathleen Wood The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums by David E. Boruchowitz (my ...

Ha, thanks! This'll be my first time raising fry (except for a batch of platies, which isn't exactly a feat), so I'm kind of nervous!

There's also a guppy and a young honey gourami. The guppy might be a problem, but I'm not too worried about the gourami—he barely even goes after frozen bloodworm!

Thanks for the responses, everyone! The water in the tank doesn't look especially green right now, but can I leave a sample in the sunlight to encourage growth?

Dissolved yeast... is that the same kind as baking yeast? Would they sell that in fish or pet stores? Thanks!

They came from a tank with slightly green water, does that work?

Cory noob here. My pygmaeus laid eggs. I've counted three milky white ones on the walls of the tank. First off, how soon will I be able to tell if they're fertilized? I know they're supposed to turn yellowish-tan if they're fertilized, so when does that happen? After a few days? Immediately? Is it ...

What the title says, pretty much. I picked up a bag from a little local museum and I'm keeping 'em in an old 5-gallon tank. Anyone have advice on culturing and breeding these guys? I have a few blanched lettuce shreds in the tank right now. Thanks!

Huh; certain times of the year? I didn't know about, that's really interesting. Why is that, and how do they tell? Is it based on the environment and conditions?

Thanks for the advice; I guess I should do some research about what species occur with my pygmaeus.

How about hastatus?

I heard somewhere else about hastatus or habrosus being misidentified as "pygmaeus," which is weird because they don't look alike at all! My guess is that the shopkeepers just see that they're small cories, know that there's a species called "pygmaeus" and decide to call the little ones that. My ...

Oh, man, I'd love to, but I don't have the space or budget for a hundred cories. I guess I'll just leave my six pygmies be for now. Someday, I'd want to get a gigantic tank and fill it with tons of tiny fish, just to see their natural behavior. But that's just a dream for now.

Thanks for all the replies, guys! Maybe I'm just too new to cories, but my pygmies don't seem as shy as everyone says. But then, those habrosus at the store were really outgoing, so maybe I'm just judging on the wrong scale. I heard similar-looking species will shoal together, is that just a case of ...

Ahh, shoot, that's too bad. I'm surprised habrosus don't school; are you sure about that? Does that mean they'd be all right individually, or do they still need groups? Thanks for the advice!