[AKaeTrue]

akae why do you have a oscar in a salt water tank? Not good by any means
im surprised the poor thing is still alive. if your oscar is that large it should be in a tank no less than 50 g now.
crazy, your tank should not be as full of algae as it is, you need to put in a better form of filtration in it. if you are wanting to breed these chiclids they should be in a 20 g or more tank. supply them with plenty of hiding spaces. you should never have more than 1 pair of breeding parents in a tank of 10 - 20 g at one time. if you put in too many they will fight and kill each other. the female of the breed that you have are notorious for killing the males once they are finished with them so you have to keep an eye on them.

clean the tank out once the babies have been transfered when they are old enough. becareful not to transfer them to early because the babies eat off of the slime on the parents bodies. Algae buildup like you are describing often happens as a result of overfeeding, over stocking and poor water filtration. one thing that you can put into your larger tank is a power head which allows for more water movement which areorates the water giving the fish and tank itself more oxygen. Do not put the tank too close to a heating element such as rad or near a window where the sun comes in constantly. I have been breeding and caring for chiclids for over 20 years so if you ever have a question,, let me know. i also have salt water tanks and a sea horse tank

I have not discussed my marine tank in this thread.
Keeping my Oscar in a saltwater tank. Huh?
She's living the good life in a 250 gallon FRESH water tank and has NEVER been
In salt water or a tank smaller than 55 gal.

The only mention of anything "salt related" in this thread is the African Cichlid salts I use to replicate
A NATURAL African rift lake environment for my AFRICAN CICHLID aquarium. An Oscar is South American, NOT African, but I never said she was in that tank either.

Plus some of the info you gave about algae is misleading.
If an aquarium has a fully established nitrogen cycle, overfeeding and over stocking a tank without making partial water changes will cause a rise in nitrate levels which is the food source for algae thus causing algae to thrive and build up (however this was not the case here).
You cannot prevent algae growth with good filtration alone.
Keeping nitrate levels low by regular maintenance and water changes
Along with controlling the lighting and sunlight which enters the tank (which you did mention) is the best way to prevent and control algae.

In the original question posted, you can clearly read that this was not an algae build up. It was an algae bloom (green cloudy water) and it was quickly taken care of.

If you are going to post in an old thread, perhaps you should read
All of the posts so that you know what's going on.
So many things have changed since the original question was asked.

[AKaeTrue]

AK i would like to know a little more about using the bacterium sponge set up. Do you set it up in a separate filter system without using all the other filter elements?

Most filters are now being sold with this accessory.
Some brands come with bio-wheels and some with the sponges.
The sponges and wheels provide a home for all the beneficial bacteria within the nitrogen cycle that
Convert all the harmful toxins produced by fish waste into a non toxic form.

It's not necessary to set up a filter just for the sponges and wheels because they are designed to fit inside the filter along with the debris cartridge.
When doing regular filter maintenance, you'd replace the debris cartridge but the wheels and sponges are left alone.
This way all the good bacteria is never accidentally washed away.

You have to have a filter specifically designed for the wheels in order to use the wheels; however, if you already have a filter that is maybe older and did not come with the sponge or wheel set up, you can always buy a replacement sponge and add it to your filter.
It may not fit perfectly due to the filter not having a built in spot for it and it may require a little trimming, but it's still perfectly doable.

You can read about the nitrogen cycle and the different types of good bacteria that live in the sponges and wheels by clicking here.

And you can see pics of what the sponges and wheels look like by clicking here and scrolling down to post #5.

I hope this answers your question, if you would like to know anything else, I'll do my best...

Thank you for sharing your story too.

[AKaeTrue]

My daughter took this pic Daisy.
This was her favorite fish and he'd always come up to the glass to say hello to her (or beg for food LOL)
Notice my round belly orange and white goldfish, she has no eyes.
It was obviously born without them.
She was tiny and getting bumped around by the bigger fish in the same tank with her at petsmart. When I noticed her, I had to get her.
She's about 6 years old now and doing great. You'd never know she has no eye.

[CrazyDaisyLou]

That poor fish. I'm glad someone who will take good care of it got it.
I love those black moors, the way they look.
Ooh, I came down to turn the lights out last night and my bumblebees were fighting. They were going around in circles, around and around and around. The bigger one's black stripes went away, his whole body went yellow, and then his whole bady started turning black. They noticed me and just like that he was his normal colors and they were both looking out at me. Trying to tell me what perfect angels they are. Ha :D

[AKaeTrue]

WOW! I often wonder what mine do too when I'm not watching.
I guess they're getting older and want their territory...
Or could you possibly have a male and female?? hummm... LOL

[AKaeTrue]

The black moor could go into your 20 gallon with a couple of other smaller round belly goldfish. Pretty easy to care for and you don't need a heater.

[CrazyDaisyLou]

Would they do that if they were different sexes? There are some differences in them, but from what I remember reading, you can't really tell the difference except when they are breeding. I think I actually wouldn't mind a male and female of those, since they aren't supposed to breed like the convicts.

[AKaeTrue]

I believe the dominant male will pick on both the males (for territory) and females (for mating)...

[CrazyDaisyLou]

Sounds kind of odd to me... oh well. Such is life.

[CrazyDaisyLou]

A couple of the fish always just watch the pellets go to the ground and don't try to eat them when I put them in. Am I doing something wrong? Or could it be that they just aren't used to them? Or maybe their too small yet?

[AKaeTrue]

Yeah, they do that when you switch their food on them.
They'll eat when they get hungry enough to try it.
Then they'll realize that they like it.

All of your fish appear to be big enough to make the switch to pellets.
You'll probably notice with the ones that are eating that they pick the pellets up in their mouths, chew on them, spit them out, chew on them some more...
It's actually good for them to chew. It keeps their sharp little teeth healthy.

[CrazyDaisyLou]

I might not be on line for a while. My dad is getting a new service provider for cable and internet/phone because the company we have keeps jacking up the price. If the company comes for the cable tomorrow, they might have to cut out something or another, and it will shut down the internet. The internet provider we are getting can't come until the end of the month to set us up. The cable company said tomorrow or Tuesday, so that would leave me internet-less. (Is that a word?) Feel free to keep messaging me, though.

[AKaeTrue]

No problem.
See you when you get reconnected.

[CrazyDaisyLou]

Gin-Soaked Raisins - Can Gin-Soaked Raisins Really Help Arthritis?

I got home and my dad said he just couldn't stand not having the internet for a week and a half, so he paid the guy extra to figure out a way to re-route so he could stay on-line.

I have my 20 set up, but it's so hot in my room, that the thermometer on the side of the tank is all the way up to the 86 degrees mark, which is the highest it goes.

[CrazyDaisyLou]

I got my thermometer for the tank that goes to 110 and it went right to 88, right when I stuck it in. I don't suppose mollies and platys would be able to take the ten degree difference between summer and winter, would they? No, I didn't think so. :rolleyes:

[AKaeTrue]

Yep, you're right. That's way too hot.
Girl, I don't even know how you can stand that heat!
What happened to that window unit? LOL

[CrazyDaisyLou]

The AC is in my bedroom. And half the time it's still in the mid-70's when it's on during the day. Not because it isn't working, oh no, it's because the heat gets so bad. When it's off it's like opening your car door when the windows are shut on a 90 degree day. I wanted to put the tank in the hall outside my bedroom. Good news is that the temp went down 4 degrees in the tank. The bad news is that it's 20 degrees cooler outside today than yesterday and the tank is still too hot. Someone told me to stick ice in it. "That'll cool it off." Yeah, for like five minutes.

My room is confusing because it's the whole third floor, so it's two rooms and a hallway. I always just call it my room, so when I say I put something in my room, people think my bedroom, and then when they see it somewhere else, they always say, "But I thought...." And then if you don't know that my room is the whole third floor, saying, "I put it in the hall in my room," would be just as confusing.

How are the kitties doing? My cousin wants a kitten but no one around here has one that I know of.

[AKaeTrue]

Oh, I see about the room now.

You know Daisy... I'm wanting to give away those kittens and a 55 gal/40 gal long double tank set up because I just have too much to take care of at the moment.
I'm currently out of town and have been since last Monday.
First I went to the wedding and spent the weekend with my family and immediately left out of town and won't be returning home for another two weeks.
It's really hard for my sister, who watches my other animals for me, to care of the tanks too. It's confusing enough for her to feed them right.
It's expected that I'll be traveling quite a bit during these summer months.

It's a shame we live so far away or I'd give them to you, and a kitten to your cousin.

[chaplain john]

Daisy sounds almost like you live in the Sacramento Valley but we haven't had that much bad heat yet this year (and I'm not looking forward to it either).
Sounds like you missed out on a great deal on a tank and a kitten... That's too bad but something will come along (always does, in my experience)

[CrazyDaisyLou]

Well, I appreciate the thought, even though it won't happen. I'm sorry it's confusing for her, too. I can imagine what its like when you really don't know anything about the animals. (Hence this post! :D) How was the wedding?

It's been in the mid to low 90's all week so far, and the past weekend, except yesterday. Definitely not in California though. I think maybe the east coast and the west coast switched weather patterns. :D I don't remember it getting this hot until closer to mid-july.