HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria

In rec.aquaria, harold@wam.umd.edu (James B. Harold) writes:

    Interestingly (well, maybe it's interesting :-)  ), we just starting
    having a problem with this velvety, green stuff.  And it began
    just after we got rid of our supposed siamensis (though the tank
    always seems to be changing, so it could be coincidence). 
 
    I'd like to get another, but I'm leery of this situation now.  We
    had a long thread at one point on what the "real" siamensis was
    (i.e., the nice, placid, smallish, non-territorial fish that eats
    red brush algae and probably lives somewhere over the rainbow....).

I'm not sure if it eats the velvety green stuff ("beard algae") but I
actually saw ours eating the "black" algae (actually red algae) last
night.  Now I believe it.  Siamese Algae Eaters are God's Gift To 
Aquarists. 

The only problem is that these fish are hard to find.  There are two
common fish in this family.  The most commonly seen is Epalzeorhynchus
kallopterus, commonly known as the Flying Fox.  The Flying Fox is the
more attractive of the two.  It tends to have a brownish body with a
very distinct, sharp-edged black stripe with a distinct, thin gold or
bronze stripe above it.  These tend to be very aggressive when they
are full grown and don't eat red algae (as far as one aquarium
reference is concerned).  We had one but had to destroy it because it
was chasing other fish.

The other member is the Siamese Algae Eater, Epalzeorhynchos
siamensis.  This is the one we have seen eat red algae.  It is the
same shape as the Flying Fox but tends toward a silverish body with a
somewhat ragged black stripe.  There may be an indistinct gold or
bronze stripe above the black.  These are definitely not aggressive;
we have them in with discus and small tetras.  If you have a copy of
"The Optimum Aquarium", the picture on page 125 shows them off very well.
The picture on pg 134 is a little marginal in that the angles and exposure
make them look more like Flying Foxes but the black stripe is still 
seen as "fuzzy" on the fish in top left. 

When they are young, the differences between E. kallopterus and E.
siamensis may not be very apparent, especially if you haven't seen
both types together.  Unfortunately, most wholesalers don't sell fish
to stores by their scientific name and the common names that are used
sometimes get pretty silly (like "siamese flying fox" :-).  If you
really can't tell which one the store has, buy it anyway, but be
prepared to sacrifice it if it turns out to be the wrong kind (unless
your fish aren't bothered by it, of course). 

------
George

Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: peschko@diatom.micro.umn.edu (Edward Peschko)
Subject: brown gunk algae
Organization: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis: Under Grad Workstation Lab.
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 15:24:51 GMT

Oh yes -- and while I am at it:

how do you get rid of brown gunk algae? (the squishy stuff with the consistency
of mush) I have tried getting calerpa (sp?).. It worked for a while, and then,
lo and behold, the calerpa is beginning to get covered by the brown...

Algae eaters wont touch the stuff, scooping it out of the tank doesn't work 
because it just keeps growin and growin...

*sigh*

Ed

Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: patton@phy.uab.edu (David Patton)
Subject: Tennessee Aquarium
Followup-To: patton@phy.uab.edu
Keywords: prices, info fyi
Reply-To: patton@phy.uab.edu
Organization: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 14:53:48 GMT

Hi all,

Just returned from a visit to the TN Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tn.
Quite a spectacular place that I highly recommend to those of you
in the Southeast. It is devoted to freshwater species of the world.
Its primary tanks are devoted to the Tennessee river from mountain
cove streams to the lakes to the Mississippi delta. There is even
one salt water tank representing the gulf coast.  In addition, there
are tanks with species from rivers in Russia, the Amazon, the St.
Lawrence, Japan, Zaire, etc. There are plenty of species in the 
African, Asian , and South American tanks that one will recognize
immediately. I thought it was really a wonderful experience to view
these species in such large tanks with their natural tankmates.

Well for those of you intent on going, I suggest you try to visit 
around three or four in the afternoon. Take your time and go through
twice if you want.  The crowd will be less at this time. However get
there well before dark, because in the cove streams(trout, etc) the
lighting is natural.

Cost of Admission ~$8

Times: 10am -6pm daily
            -8pm fri, sat, sun and holidays from may1 to labor day.

Well, just thought some of you might be interested. 

David Clay Patton                                  patton@phy.uab.edu
Physics Department
University of Alabama at Birmingham                So much to learn,
Birmingham, Al 35294                               so little time!!!


Xref: sparky rec.aquaria:9814 sci.aquaria:1830 alt.aquaria:6400
From: ssakaki@farad.elee.calpoly.edu (Steven Kenneth Sakaki)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria,sci.aquaria,alt.aquaria
Subject: bandit catfish...
Date: 4 Jan 93 07:54:53 GMT
Organization: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo


	i just got some bandit catfish...
	i'm usin' them to eat the garbage my oscars leave...
	so far...
		that water's clean...
		the oscars like the cats...
		the cats like the garbage...
		the bettas are freaked...
		and there are no cat fights...
			(x-squeeze the pun...)

	question...
	can someone tell me more about the bandit catfish?
	all i know...
		(there were rumors...  he was into field hockey players.)
		excuse that last line...

	all i know...
		they like garbage...
		they like to hide...
		& they were 2 bucks a piece...

	please send me some info...
		thanks...

	ssakaki@farad.elee.calpoly.edu
From: enriquez@zikzak.apana.org.au (Luke Enriquez)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Recommendation on cold water fish
Date: 9 Jan 1993 20:25:32 +1100
Organization: Zikzak public access UNIX, Melbourne Australia
NNTP-Posting-Host: zikzak.apana.org.au

oleg@netcom.com (Oleg Kiselev) writes:

>Nothing wrong with guppies if they are not of the "fancy" varieties.  Wild
>guppies are very hardy.  (Un)fortunately guppies are very prolific and 
>do not make for good long-term inhabitants of a small tank.

	I keep a tank of guppys (2ft*3ft*3ft), heated and feed them live
food, specifically because I feed the young (about 2.5 cms long) to my
larger fish (Mogurda Mogurnda and the like) to keep them happy and get
them into breeding condition. You can do the same with Mosquito Fish (Who
have ruined the worlds native waters mind I say). They breed even faster
than Guppys.

Regards Luke
EDAS - (Eastern District Aquarium Society of Australia)
ANGFA - (Australian and New Guinea Fishes Association)

-- 
		Zikzak public access UNIX, Melbourne, Australia.
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: june@Cadence.COM (June Petersen)
Subject: Re: Aquaclear 300 problem
Organization: Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 23:22:41 GMT

In article <C0IK7s.HtC@news.cso.uiuc.edu> ffujita@s.psych.uiuc.edu (Frank Fujita) writes:
>I use an extra sponge from the 300, and stick it on the intake valve,
>and presto, it doesn't even suck in fry.  Just take a sharp knife, and
>stick it down halfway into the sponge (make the sponge vertical) and
>then slip it on the intake tube.
>
>Frank Fujita

The only thing you must be careful of doing this is keeping the
sponge from getting sucked up into the intake.  I had a sponge
in my Aquaclear 200, and one night I heard a terrible noise- the
sponge had been sucked practically all the way in, and the bottom
(impeller?) was quite hot.  I unplugged, managed to pull sponge
out, and then sewed it into the bottom (holey) part of
the intake tube  with dental floss.  I'm just glad I was home when
it happened and heard it. 

TTFN,
June
From: curt@nereus.East.Sun.COM (Curt Harpold-Sun-Vienna VA-Systems Engineer)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: (M) stores in DC area
Date: 12 Jan 93 03:45:15 GMT
Distribution: dc
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc. - Vienna, Va.
NNTP-Posting-Host: nereus.east.sun.com

In article <17899@umd5.umd.edu> mwerling@linus.umd.edu (Michael T. Werling) writes:
>I am looking for a decent store in the D.C. area that has marine fish
>in good condition and has knowledgeable salespeople.  So far I have
>had bad luck.  I would prefer one that is close to the beltway in either
>Va. or Md.

My favorite store is Exotic Aquatics in Springfield, Virginia.  They're
located IN a Nautilus Fitness Centre (NautiBody?) on Morrissette Avenue
in Springfield.  Very knowledgable staff, small store, always willing to
special order just about anything you need.

Tell them Curt sent you.  They're good friends.


     /\
    \\ \        Curt Harpold
   \ \\ /       Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation
  / \/ / /      2650 Park Tower Drive, Suite 550
 / /   \//\     Vienna, Virginia  22180
 \//\   / /     
  / / /\ /      Internet: curt.harpold@east.sun.com
   / \\ \       Phone:    703-204-4840
    \ \\        FAX:      703-204-4786
     \/	
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: wcollins@netcom.com (Walter J. Collins)
Subject: Re: Aquaclear 300 problem
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1993 02:36:24 GMT


I've used Aquaclear filters before and been very happy with them.  I find
it hard to imagine that healthy fish are being trapped by the filter intake
and killed.  I hav3e to agree with those that suggested the fish are dying,
or at least very weak before they get caught.

If you only run your filter a few hours a day, what hapens the rest of the
time?  One of the benefits of the Aquaclear filter is that it supports
biological filtration.  I'm afraid that while your filter is not running,
you are creating a nasty mess of dying bacteria, and other stuff that will
poison you fish when you turn the filter back on.

Try leaving your filter running all the time, butadjusted for less water
intake.  You may want to turn it off at feeding time.  I found it was
ok to leave it on though.  It caused a lot of the floating food to sink
when it passed under the output, but I considered this a benefit.  I had
lots of bottom dwellers that were glad to have the food reaching the
bottom of the tank.

Casey
(Kristin Harvey)
-- 
wcollins@netcom.netcom.com  < Walt Collins / Kristin Harvey >
1011 New Hope St., #12-C  |  Norristown, PA  19401  |  (215)277-2567
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: vnrao@teja.cs.ucf.edu (Nageshwara Rao Vempaty)
Subject: [F] Books on fishes and plants
Keywords: Encyclopaedia on fishes, plants, diseases, etc.
Organization: University of Central Florida
Distribution: rec
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 21:42:38 GMT

 While casually walking through a Dalton bookstore, I ran into 
an encyclopaedia on tropical freshwater fish and bought it for the 
real nice color photos.

 I went home and after reading carefully, I was in for a surprise.  It turned 
out to be a real good book and a bargain for the sale price of $20.
It is titled `The Complete Aquarium, an encyclopaedia of tropical fresh water
fish' and is published by Chartwell Books Inc.  It is written by several 
authors, mostly from Europe.

Pros of the book:
1. Excellent classification and comprehensive coverage of tropical feshwater 
fish suitable for home aquariums.  

2.  Good coverage on plants and maintenance.

3. Exceptionally good coverage on diseases and cures, written by a pathologist.
Each chapter is written by an expert which adds depth and precision to the book.

4. Good color photos and illustrative diagrams. No touch ups, fade outs and
impractical things.

Cons:
1. Does not use  common names often.

2.  Not much coverage of recent fancy filtration systems.

 I have a number of books on tropical freshwater fish and plants, but I found
this one to be outstanding in information content and organization.
It is a bargain for the price of $20.

VNRao


Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: oleg@netcom.com (Oleg Kiselev)
Subject: Re: [F] Why do I have only female swordtails
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1993 10:04:01 GMT

In article <C0Jtxs.1w0@uceng.uc.edu> jpenix@uceng.uc.edu (John Penix) writes:
>Don't worry!  All swordtails start off as females.  If there needs to be
>a male, one or some of the fish will change over and start to grow a tail.

Juveniles of most (if not all) freshwater fish species *look* like the
females pf the species.  The characteristics male traits like colouration,
fin extensions and scale modifications become expressed when they start 
their sexual maturation.  There is some debate about the actual point when
the freshwater fish gender is deremined, during the egg development phase,
at the point of fertilization, or at the early stages of of fry development.

There are a number of salt water fishes who are capable of switching genders
and hermaphroditic fish who play a differend sexual role in each sexual
encounter.  There are only a couple of freshwater fish species that are
hermaphroditic, both of them are in the Rivulus genus (actually 3 species,
but 2 of them may be the same species -- the taxonomic jury is still out on
it).

The myth of the swords (Xiphophorus helleri) females changing into males is
based on the fact that the older females sometimes exhibit muted male 
traits like sword extensions with a yellow-black colouration in it, and the
anal fin forming a beginning of a gonopodium.  Recall that even in our own
species some (usually older) females exhibit superficial male traits like 
facial hair growth.  This doesn't make them male or capable of siring 
children.
-- 
Oleg Kiselev at home			...use the header to find the path
Organization: University of Maine System
Date: Tuesday, 5 Jan 1993 20:36:08 EST
From: <APARKER@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Baby cichlids

In article <1993Jan4.161153.2958@kilowatt.uucp>, root@kilowatt.uucp (Kilowatt
admin) says:
>
>Hello all...
>        I am the proud father (well, not really) of about 50 baby cichlids.
>They're a cross between a Salvini Cichlid (anyone know where they came from?
>Are they a convict hybrid?) and a Pink Convict. The babies are about 3 weeks
>out of the egg.
>        What are the scientific names for the Pink Convict and the Salvini
>Cichlid (looks like a cross breed). But I will say this, the Salvini markings
>are definitly dominant over the Pink. There's only 3 or 4 fry that are NOT
>marked like the mother.

Since you asked, they are Heros/Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum and salvani.

Even though you didn't ask, I will add the following comment/advice:
Intentional hybridization of cichlids is generally considered to be an
unacceptable practice by serious cichlid keepers, especially now that
   numerous  natural populations are in decline, with their ultimate
preservation possibly dependant on the existence of uncontaminated
aquarium stocks.  I would suggest that you dispose of the hybrid fry,
obtain a female convict and/or male salvani, and enjoy    breeding
non-hybrid cichlids.
aparker@maine.maine.edu
From: mujkv@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Joe K. Vigor)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Whisper W/D Power filters
Date: 8 Jan 1993 12:09:51 -0600
Organization: Educational Computing Network
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: uxa.ecn.bgu.edu

Does anyone know about or use the new Whisper Wet/Dry Power Filters?
How well do they work and do you recommend them?  Please e-mail me with
any responses.  I will try to post a follow up if I get enough replies.

Thanks in advance,

Joe V.


-- 
Joseph K. Vigor                           
J-Man                                   
mujkv@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu
From: judson@watserv.ucr.edu (Mike Judson)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Lighting: blacklight white??
Date: 13 Jan 93 04:57:08 GMT
Reply-To: judson@watserv.ucr.edu

In article <17930@umd5.umd.edu> dd76@umail.umd.edu writes:

> 
> I have a 48" BL tube alongside a 48" vitalite in my 4 ft' fixture above  my
> igs environment.
> 
> 
It is EXTREMELY important that a black light black not be used as the
only source of fluorescent lighting for reptiles (or fish), as it will
cause blindness and excessive eyestrain. The lighting most often
recommended for reptiles, especially green iguanas, is the Vitalite.
Reptiles require sunlight to synthesize vitamin D3 in their skin. Without
this synthesizing action, the skin will fade to a dull brown rather quickly.
The strange thing is the cells seem to use only the blue end of the light
spectrum to produce vit.D3. Vitalite produces the entire spectrum, which 
accounts for the success of herpetologists using these lights.  I however
cannot afford these bulbs above all of my animals, so I checked the spec
sheet for 'em and got the Kelvin rating.  Fluorescent bulbs are rated in 
degrees of Kelvin.  Low ratings mean ultra-violet, high mean infra-red, with
5000 or 5500 being the soft white we all strive to lay under each summer.
Vitalites are around 5000K, but so are a lot of other "generic" bulbs. They
may not last as long, but they are about a quarter of the price.

Black light whites may also cause retinal damage.  I've had leopard geckos go
blind under them, but never an iguana. I stopped using all black lights on 
the advice of three veterinarians.

email me at boots@watserv.ucr.edu   if you have any more questions or comments.

hope this helps!

--
If you ever fall off the Sears Tower, just go real limp, because 
maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will try to catch you 
because, hey, free dummy.

judson@watserv.ucr.edu
From: howardr@col.hp.com (Howard Rebel)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Tank Mysteries and the empty office tank finally gets fish.
Date: 4 Jan 1993 22:43:01 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division
NNTP-Posting-Host: hplsdum.col.hp.com

scol@scottsdale.az.stratus.com (Scott Colbath) writes:
> In article <1hvg32INN99l@hp-col.col.hp.com> howardr@col.hp.com (Howard Rebel)  
> writes:
> 
> > P.S.  We've also found an UGF to be a time bomb waiting to happen; once
> > one hits about a year; even with regular gravel siphoning.  You might
> > want to consider another form of filtration for long-haul fishkeeping. 
> 
> What is the cause of this time bomb? In addition to my UGF, I also run a power  
> filter. Is this safe enough?

The problem with UFG's is that waste which is not removed from it will
over time cause the pH to plummet.  But keep in mind that this is true
of any filter that traps solids and is not fully cleaned.  Adding a power
filter will not prevent this.  The filter does not need to be clogged
to have this problem, it only requires some amount of old solid waste
products.
-- 
Howard Rebel hpcsos.col.hp.com 

Newsgroups: rec.aquaria,sci.aquaria
From: goo@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (frank.m.macauda)
Subject: Fresh to Salt Coversion Query
Followup-To: poster
Keywords: questions, decisions, confusion
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 21:59:55 GMT


I'm currently running a 55 gallon African Cichlid tank and
would like to convert to a Marine tank with fish and anemones.
My current filtration consists of a Fluval 303 and an AquaClear
300. Would this be enough filtration to handle 4-5 medium sized
fish and a couple anemones? Is a wet/dry an absolute necessity?
Could I just add another Fluval and a skimmer? How well do anemones
get along with RFUGF? Should I shitcan the Fluval and AquaClear
and get a wet/dry? I'm so confused. Please help.

Frank Macauda
      
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: dbs@hprnd.rose.hp.com (Dave Sheehy)
Subject: Re: protein skimmers
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 19:41:22 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: HP - Systems Technology Division
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.8 PL6]

daniel.m.kuster..jr (dmk@cbnewsi.cb.att.com) wrote:
: 
: greetings all,
: 
: does anyone have any construction plans for making a home-made
: protein skimmer.  I refuse to pay $200 for something I can
: build myself for $50.

I've built one out of PVC pipe but I don't have plans for it. It was fairly
easy to design and build tho.

: I want to build a stand alone unit, not one that is connected 
: to a wet-dry filter sump.  Also, does anyone know what makes
: a skimmer a "venturi" skimmer?  

Yes, instead of injecting air with an air stone a venturi valve is used to
inject air into the incoming water stream. Several advertisers in FAMA are
offering various quality venturi valves for do it yourselfers. The venturi 
valve is place in-line between the pump output and the skimmer input.

: Two questions:
: 
: 	(1)  Is the power head on the water intake or on the
: 		water exit line?

Intake.

: 	(2)  Does the the height of the protein skimmer have to
: 		be at or slightly higher than the height of the
: 		tank?

Yes, otherwise you have a siphon if the power fails (Not a good thing!).

: Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If I had it to do over I would use ABS black plastic tubing used for sewer
pipe. It comes in 3 and 4" diameter. The biggest PVC pipe I could find at
the local hardware outlets is only 2 or 2.5" in diameter. In contrast with
other people's experiences I've not been able to find a reasonably inexpensive
source of large diameter acrylic pipe. I think that acrylic is much harder
to work with than PVC since you have to fabricate all your own fittings (or
kluge ways around it). There are all kinds of off the shelf fittings 
available in PVC that just glue together without the need for mechanical
stabilization while the glue sets.

Some people will claim that a skimmer constructed of PVC will be hard to
adjust since it is opaque. I have not found that to be true. The skimmer
can be adjusted based on the color of the effluent.

: dan

Good Luck!

Dave Sheehy
From: vseaman@access.digex.com (Vanya Seaman)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: (M) stores in DC area
Date: 11 Jan 1993 19:32:04 GMT
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Distribution: dc
NNTP-Posting-Host: access.digex.com

>I am looking for a decent store in the D.C. area that has marine fish
>in good condition and has knowledgeable salespeople.  So far I have
>had bad luck.  I would prefer one that is close to the beltway in either
>Va. or Md.

	Ahh. The best store in the "wash-balt" area is The
Aquarium Center up in Randalstown, maryland. THE best. There
is no place larger. They have maybe 100 tanks for salt/reef kind of work.
They are up by Baltimore though. Quite a drive.

	There's also that stor by Wheaton mall (don't remember the name)
by Georgia Avenue... near the Wheaton Metro that has some inverts
and such...

	But the Randallstowne place is REALLY your best bet unless you
want to go to new york
From: chuck@micro.caltech.edu (Chuck Higgins)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Questions: Recurring oodinium in a reef tank
Date: 7 Jan 93 17:27:06 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
NNTP-Posting-Host: merope.micro.caltech.edu

    Once upon a time, I had a fish to get oodinium in my tank (15g marine,
10lbs of live rock, one maroon clownfish, one yellow tang, one cleaner
shrimp).  I treated the tank with TetraMedica MarinOomed.  I figured with
my cleaner shrimp, which is supposed to enjoy eating Oodinium, this would
be sufficient.    Sure enough, the spots disappear after 7 days and the
fish appear healthy again, but after removing the medication and another few 
days, they come back.  Clearly I am not killing the parasite in the tank, just
on the fish.  

    I have two questions.  

    First:  my cleaner shrimp seems quite lazy.  He
always stays up on the tall (plastic) plants in my tank, never going down
on the rocks or to the shorter plants on the other side of the aquarium.  
He has learned how to recognize when the fish are being fed, and he
scampers to the top and picks up a lot of fish food.  I suspect he is
simply not hungry enough to scavenge. He does try to jump on the fish quite
actively, though, so I don't think he is ill.

    Second: the only sure-fire way I know of to get rid of oodinium is to
remove the fish to a separate tank and treat them there while leaving the
temp at 85 in the original tank for about three weeks!! This is a bit
extreme, and I would like to avoid it if possible.

   Thanks again for all your help,
               Chuck



Newsgroups: rec.aquaria