About half a dozen White Cloud Mountain minnows should do. Cheap, hardy, and attractive; and they won't get quite as large as danios.

What are the required water quality parameters for keeping a plastic fish? (Montana humor)

I wouldn't feel too bad about the guy losing his job. He probably had a new job somewhere else by the end of the day. If he can't handle working with the public, he should go somewhere else. With unemployment as low as it is, Wal- Mart can't be too choosy who they hire.

I'm guessing you may have missed the point of all the advice posted here. If you buy a new tank, you will want some established, aged water to provide beneficial bacteria, essential for your fishes' health. Only a few fish species can survive "new tank syndrome", red clouds and danios come to mind.

You know, I've just about decided that you can ask the most obscure question (such as where did the word "decal" come from) and silurus will come up with the answer.

If you can arrange the location of your tank so that it gets just a little direct sunlight, you will probably have more green algae than you know what to do with.

I've heard that one of the best ways to "seed" your tank with good bacteria is to use sponge filters to get a good colony started. As long as the sponge is kept wet during transport the bacteria should stay alive.

Larry, that story sounds like a great plot for a Pat McManus tale. Maybe you should send it to him.
kc

I agree with Larry. Once your algae eaters get some size to them, they lose all interest in eating algae and take bites out of your other fish instead. The worst fish ever foisted on an unsuspecting public.

MatsP wasn't being huffy, he was being British.

All the catfish East of the Rockies are native to Montana. Everything that drains to the Missouri are native.
They are introduced to the Westside where the rivers drain to the Columbia River. Montana is a special case, Partly in the PNW and partly not.

Of course, you're quite right, Larry. There ...

Hi Mat,
I was surprised to learn that bullheads are not native to Montana. Only the stonecat, which I believe is probably Noturus flavus, and the channel cat, Ictalurus punctatus are native to our state. According to Montana FWP the state records for these are 10" for the stonecat and 38.75 for the ...

Kudos to all those who contribute to this site! As a computer professional, I go to all kinds of websites all the time; my living depends on it. My fish are just a hobby, of course. I just have to say, this is one of the best sites on the web. You guys know your focus area, and provide excellent ...

My wife and I plan to build a 150 to 180 gallon tank some time this spring or summer. If I can get away with it, I would like to eliminate in-tank heaters, to prevent heater burns on some of the talking cats which insist on hiding behind them. Could I maybe build a sump type filter and put the ...

Howdy- I highly recommend the Catfish of the Month series!
KC

Corylover, I'm honored that you named a fish after me, but did it have to be the grumpy one?

KC

I have to say I agree with M@rs on the pepper cories. They are hardy and much less shy than most catfish. When little Johnny gets his first aquarium for Christmas from his grandparents, (usually a 10 gal.) just put a few white clouds and pepper cories in it and he will be hooked on fish for life ...

By sheer coincidence, I had a brown algae disaster overnight. I added some pH Decreaser from Jungle to our 35 gal. hex tank... This is what our filter looked like this morning! Completely plugged with brown algae! Note the stream coming from the bypass. The filter cartridge was brand new!
http ...

We have 3 Hancock's raphaels:

One Anadoras Grypus:

http://s122.photobucket.com/albums/o263 ... CH0002.flv

For about five bucks you can hook a sponge filter to your air hose; seems to cut down on ammonia very quickly.

Cat e-log, sorted by length...
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/si ... 40&max=240

Not sure what you mean by "nice-looking"... something like this?
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... cies_id=95

For new tank conditioning fish I like White Cloud Mountain Minnows. They're cheap and tough, and won't take over the tank someday like the goldfish will.

KC

Off hand, the only pleco I can think of that will eat algae but not plants is Otocinclus. You'll need a bunch, though, because a 1.5 inch Oto is a real lunker.

One more thing, if you use batteries and an inverter, you will want to use deep cycle marine batteries, NOT auto batteries. You can use a couple at a time, hooked up in parallel.

Uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) meant for computers are quite reasonable nowadays... I would imagine the heater would be the biggest amp draw. If you bought one for the pump & light and one for the heater, you should be able to get by without electricity for a couple of days. The worst part would ...

That's a good point about loaches being so greedy, and a good idea concerning the sweet potato strip. Maybe if you put it in a small water bottle first, it might be a neater cleanup. As far as safe snail-eating fish, our Anadorus Grypus eats a few snails. I suspect the Hancocks and Chocolate Raphael ...

I can't help it, I just think the Pepper Cory is my favorite. If you take good care of them, the iridescent colors come out. Just because they are common and cheap doesn't mean they aren't worth considering. They are so friendly, one of them has even adopted my Anadoras Grypus. Talk about the Odd ...

I'll bet the poor guy's computer has been turned into a "zombie". He probably doesn't even know it; he just thinks his computer is running a little slow. I wish there was some way to warn him.

Here's a beauty you can get for free if you live in the Western US:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... cies_id=32

All you need is a fishing pole and some chicken gizzards.