Temporary situation for fish... Guppies and Angel, Lemon Tetras comp.    1/20/12
Hello:
<Judy>
I was wondering if it is ok to put a juvenile angelfish in with four guppies in a 29 gallon, if the guppies will be getting a new home in a few days?
<Mmm, a risk to some degree; but likely to be okay if the Angel is regularly fed... a few times per day>
 I have guppies in water made hard with marine salt.
<How much salt? Do you have a hydrometer, refractometer, or such to measure? How much have you added? Pterophyllum can tolerate some salt content, but not nearly as much as Guppies>
 The tap water is soft which is needed for the angelfish. Also is it ok to put about five lemon tetras in with the angelfish? Thank you!!
<This number of Lemons should make a fine addition w/ Angels. Bob Fenner>
Re: Temporary situation for fish... Guppies and Angel, Lemon Tetras, salt use    1/20/2012
Hello:
<Judy>
I was wondering if it is ok to put a juvenile angelfish in with four guppies in a 29 gallon, if the guppies will be getting a new home in a few days?
<Mmm, a risk to some degree; but likely to be okay if the Angel is regularly fed... a few times per day>
I have guppies in water made hard with marine salt.
<How much salt? Do you have a hydrometer, refractometer, or such to measure? How much have you added? Pterophyllum can tolerate some salt content, but not nearly as much as Guppies>
One tablespoon in a 29 gallon.
<<Ahh, this should be fine for all. BobF>>
The tap water is soft which is needed for the angelfish. Also is it ok to put about five lemon tetras in with the angelfish? Thank you!!
<This number of Lemons should make a fine addition w/ Angels. Bob Fenner>

Lemon Tetras, Nipping, Behaviour - 11/28/2005 Dear Sabrina, <Hi, Taya! Sabrina with you again.> First, another round of thanks to you and the rest of the crew for keeping this site going. I'd be lost without it... :)  <And again, thank you for these words of inspiration.> I have follow-up questions on the fin-nipping Lemons (see original correspondence below), as well as a few unrelated queries.  <Cool.> For reference, on both tanks described below, ammonia/nitrites are 0, nitrate runs around 10 ppm just before the 25% weekly water changes, temp is 78-80, and pH is 7.8. Assorted plants and bogwood in both tanks; Marineland Bio-Wheel 125 on the 15 gal, mini on the 10 gal. Fish are fed small amounts (as much as can consume in 20 - 30 sec) twice per day, rotating through Hikari micro-pellets, TetraMin flakes, freeze-dried bloodworms, and frozen (thawed) brine shrimp. Hoping to add in some fresh veggie matter as soon as I figure out what form it should take.  <Sounds great.> Lemons first: shortly after receiving your email, I brought home 5 more Lemon Tetras from LFS. Unfortunately, the addition did nothing to resolve (or even disperse) the destructive behavior.  <Ahh, bummer!> I merely had ten nippers instead of five!  <Yikes.> After a week and a half I couldn't stand it any more, and moved the five worst offenders to a 10 gal hosp/QT tank that I'd started up in the meantime. (For better or worse, I can keep track of which tetras are which due to the individual patterns of chomps and tears in their fins. *sigh*)  <Ouch.> Things calmed down slightly after that, but not as much as I'd like. The five in the hosp/QT tank are schooling a bit more, but still actively harassing each other as well, and one seems to get particularly harassed around feeding time - I'm not sure he's getting much to eat. The five that remain in the 15 gallon tank have settled into territories of sorts - four hide behind various plants and logs, and defend their small quarters, while the fifth keeps the majority of the center tank to himself and takes on all comers, as it were.  <Sounds like the tank may just be too small for these guys to school comfortably.> (They're all still completely ignoring the Rosy Barbs, and vice versa.)  <Ah, good. At least there's that.> I tried adding more plants to rearrange/erase territories; I now have a more attractive tank, but it didn't change the fish behavior at all. This is NOT what I'd had in mind when I acquired what I thought were fairly mellow schooling fish! (This based on reading in various fishy books, prior to discovery of WWM. Though in searching here, I haven't found any mention of this much aggression in Lemons...)  <In many tetras, it's not uncommon.> Is there any hope that once I've got them in the 60 gallon tank, the Lemons will calm down, re-grow their pretty fins, and behave themselves?  <It is entirely possible. At that point, you could even try further increasing the school - but I, personally, would go with a different species entirely. Uhh, just for my own personal preference, really. I don't like watching little fish beat the crap out of each other.> Or should I try to take them back to the LFS before any more time elapses, and try again with something else?  <I would, but you can certainly try with the larger space and see how it goes.> Did I have the misfortune to happen upon a particularly psycho bunch of fish?  <Stranger things have happened! <grin>> I'd like to make this work, if I can, but I'm not really interested in an ongoing battle in my tank(s). Related query: Your original reply makes it sound like some/most tetras are fairly nippy critters. Is my hope for a peaceful group of schoolers doomed?  <Mm, no.> My only prior experience with tetras is a group of 5 or 6 Diamond tetras that I had in my childhood tank. I recall them being very well behaved. If you think I should re-home the Lemons and try again, can you recommend some peaceful tetras?  <Sure.> Would Diamonds be a good choice, or am I misremembering how peaceful they were?  <I've never kept them, so can't speak from experience.> I'd prefer something medium-sized (for a tetra), with a silver or yellowish body and perhaps a little bit of color on the fins. My fish books (Baensch Atlas and others) are no help - pretty pictures, but describe nearly all tetras as "peaceful schoolers."  <My personal preference goes toward, in this order, "green Neons", "flame" tetras, Rummynose tetras, then Neons and cardinals.... None of which really fit your bill. If you look hard enough, you might find gold Congo tetras.... These GORGEOUS African fellows are moderately sized (2-3", or thereabouts) and have a lot more gold/brassy color than their more common, more blue counterparts. "Regular" Congo tetras do have some yellow to their mostly blue/silver bodies and really do grow into beautiful animals. Their finnage is excellent, as well, and they're not very nippy. Do please look into Congos, gold or otherwise.> <<I must second the suggestion for the Congo tetras.  They are truly beautiful in a way few photos capture.  They are peaceful enough (though a wee bit jumpy at times) for most hatchets, and other flighty fishes.  Marina>> On to the other questions:  (1) The tap water here runs at about pH 7.9; my tanks are at 7.8 after the fish-plant-bogwood balance has equilibrated. After researching things, it seems like stability is generally preferable to a specific pH point, but 7.8 still seems a bit high for the fish I want to keep.  <Stability is, in fact, key.> I'd like to get it down to somewhere closer to 7.0, and am hoping to approach this via adding peat to my filtration system.  <It'll work - and quickly. Be cautious of how much peat you add, and go at this slooooooowly.> The owner of LFS, while well-meaning, is no help; he tells me this is unnecessary, the fish will do "fine" without it, and I shouldn't "complicate matters." ("I own fish, sir. Matters are already complicated.")  <Heh! True enough!> At this point, I don't know how alkaline our water is, and I understand that the buffering capacity makes a difference, but in general, will peat filtration offer any hope of getting near this goal? (And if not, what should I do?)  <It very likely will. Again, be slow and cautious about it.> If so, how do I introduce this most safely, given that I already have fish in the system and don't want to shock them with a rapid change? Can I start with a very small amount of peat in the filter and increase it over weeks/months?  <Yup.> I have no idea what quantity of peat effects what sort of pH drop.  <It will depend upon the age of the peat, the buffering capacity of the water, etc. Also, it can change (slowly) over time.> (I'm going to have to do this "on the fly" in the aquarium: storage/water aging containers, as well as the 60 gal tank, are awaiting the end of a remodel.)  <Exciting!> Also, assuming I can achieve a stable, lower pH, what do I then do when I (inevitably!) buy more fish, given that they will be accustomed to the higher pH of the store tanks? (It's the *only* LFS with good stock within an hour's drive - can't just switch suppliers.) Is the typical "float the bag in the tank and then gradually add tank water to it" method going to avoid shocking them?  <Nope.> Instinct tells me no, and I don't have the resources to set up a "pH acclimation" tank.  <Anything less than a few to several hours' acclimation will be worthless in regards to acclimating to pH. Very seriously, it's better just to "dump" the fish in after acclimating for temperature! Your best option, here, is to do a "drip" acclimation in a bucket - type "drip acclimation" into our search bar on the WWM homepage and you'll find loads of information. That should get you all set.> (Can't do a bunch of fluctuations in the hosp tank, because it may have a semi-permanent resident. Which brings us to...) (2) My finless clown loach.  <Ouch!> The 60 gallon tank I'm about to have (T minus 45 days and counting) is an old tank of mine currently under the care of my parents. Sole occupants: 6 clown loaches, about 3" each. For reasons unknown (likely a combination of stress due to poor water quality, infrequent cleanings, and perhaps fishy psychology beyond my ken), <And mine> five of the loaches have mercilessly bullied the sixth. I found out (Arrgh) that the poor thing has spent most of the past year hiding in a log, without fins/tail. I mean completely, totally, nipped away down to the body. Gone. Nada. <Wow, and again, ouch!> (All other loaches are happy, healthy, and normal-looking.) Oddly enough, the bullied loach (when brave enough to leave the log) still gets around adequately, if awkwardly, has a good appetite, and seems otherwise okay. (Mom says if she feeds during the day, it's the first one out at feeding time, and comes up to say hello - but if the other loaches come out, it flees immediately.) All this revelation resulted in an immediate cross-state fish transfer (couldn't stand the thought of the fish being subjected to any more harassment), and it is now in residence in my hospital tank (along with the five Lemons, who ignore it).  <Ah, good.> Spends most of its time hiding (still adjusting from the move), but when it comes out, seems okay, if a little washed out - and of course, completely without fins. I've looked pretty closely, and don't see any evidence of fin rot, ich, or other disease. My question (after that long-winded introduction): what's the prognosis for this guy/gal? Given a stress-free place to recuperate, decent water quality, and no competition for food, is there any hope of those fins growing back after being gone for a year or more?  <Hopefully, but in all honesty, I couldn't be sure. It will depend upon the extent of the damage.> If so, what's the expected timeline?  <Quite a long haul, I fear.> Should I be treating with something?  <I probably would.... but am uncertain whether you should or not. If you do, I'd use Nitrofurazone, if possible.> If fin regrowth is unlikely, can a finless fish be a happy fish? (I'd think not, even without competition/aggressors, but...) Is it kinder to put it out of it's misery?  <If it's eating, and can get around.... well, you're the best judge of it, as you have contact with the animal, and I don't.> I want to do the right thing, but I have absolutely no idea what that might be. Addendum - yes, I realize that if the loach pulls through, it can't stay in the 10 gal for too long. I'll deal with that if/when we get there. Fins first, additional tanks later. :)  <Of course.> (3) About those storage vessels for aging water prior to tank changes... I've seen Rubbermaid containers recommended. Will new containers, with a thorough rinsing, be adequate, or should they be lined with something?  <Unlined containers are fine.> If so, what? I worry about plastics (either the containers or liners) leaching things into the water, particularly if I'm heating the water.  <A good thing to be concerned over. I have used Rubbermaid and Sterlite products with no problems. I would clean these thoroughly with a diluted bleach/water solution and allow to air-dry for a couple days, maybe even soak 'em for a couple days and discard the water.> Thanks in advance for your time and help!  <You bet.> Anxiously awaiting advice, -Taya <All the best to you and your finless friend, -Sabrina>

Lemon Tetras, Nipping, Behaviour - II/III - 12/01/2005 Dear Sabrina, <Hi again, Taya.> Thanks for all of your information and advice. Sounds like the finless loach will be hanging out in the hospital tank for the duration - at least as long as it's happy and healthy. <Ah, good.> I talked to the LFS about returning the nippy tetras, and they'll be happy to take them back for store credit. (Bless their hearts...) I spent quite a while looking at their Congo Tetras, and I agree they're pretty, but I'm afraid that they're going to wind up being a bit bigger than what I'd like.  <They grow kind of slowly.... half a dozen or so would look great in that 60g....> I would really like to try Diamond Tetras again, but after the experience with the Lemons, I'm a bit gun-shy.  <Try 'em.... quarantine, and observe - be sure to have some cover (plastic plants and the like) in the quarantine.> I was wondering if you could pass this around to the rest of the WWM crew and find out if anyone had any experience with Diamonds, and if so, where they fall on the nippy/aggression scale.  <I have discussed this with Crewmember Gage (another freshwater geek) and neither of us can clearly recall aggression in this species - but can't guarantee one way or the other, either.> Also, I'm starting to plan out the community for this upcoming 60 gal tank, and wanted to run things by you. The things that will be in the tank for sure are: (5) 3 or 4 inch Clown Loaches (these come with the tank) (3) male Rosy Barbs (already have these) (2) Otocinclus (already have these) (10) tetras, Diamond or otherwise (to be acquired after more research) <All good, for now> I realize the loaches will eventually get quite big and may need to be re-homed someday, but they haven't grown substantially in the last 5 years, so they're going at a slow rate.  <Right. Good plan, for now - and then you can get a bigger tank <grin> > I'm also a little concerned about the Otos and the loaches - specifically, the latter picking on (or eating) the former. LFS says that in a tank of that size, with plenty of hiding places (there will be LOTS of plants and bog-wood), it shouldn't be a problem.  <I tend to agree.> I'd like your thoughts on loaches/Otos, as well as the general compatibility of all of the above. <I think you'll be fine with these.> The other fish I'm considering (not planning to get all of these, I'm just playing with ideas): some female Rosy Barbs (really only if you think it would make the males happier - I don't want to breed, and the males get along fine as it is) <Up to you. It certainly won't hurt for 'em to get some action with the girlies.> Dwarf Gouramis (Colisa lalia) male and female (again, no plans to breed - but I like the coloring of the males, and he might not want to be alone) <Agreed - best to keep 'em paired. But I'd avoid any other males; just the one.> perhaps a school of another kind of tetra, or more Diamonds 6 or so Hatchetfish (probably Marbled/Carnegiella strigata or Common/Gasteropelecus sternicla) <One of my very, very favorite schoolers!!> I'm concerned that there would be too much action in the tank for the Gouramis and the Hatchetfish... Thoughts?  <Honestly, I think they'll be okay.> Other fish that might make good additions? <I think this would be a nice, well-rounded tank.... Action at the top, schools in the middle, buddies in the bottom.... Sounds nice.> As always, thanks ever so much! <And thank you again for your correspondence.> --Taya <Happy Holidays to ya! -Sabrina>

Lemon Tetras, Nipping, Behaviour - 11/08/2005 Dear WWM Crew, First of all, thanks for a fantastic, informative site - it's a great resource.  <Thank you for these kind words.> I've searched and browsed, but haven't found an answer to the following question; apologies in advance if I missed something. I have a 15 gallon freshwater tank that I set up several days ago. The gravel and the filter (Marineland Bio-Wheel 125) were from a friend's established, healthy aquarium, to cut down on cycling time. The tank is at 78 F, ammonia and nitrites are 0 ppm (haven't checked nitrates yet), pH is 7.8, and the tank is furnished with about eight assorted live plants and a few rocks/caves. Water is treated with AmQuel Plus and NovAqua. Fish are fed TetraMin flakes (with some other variety to be added soon). After letting the tank run for a day and a half to stabilize temperature, etc., I acquired from the LFS three Rosy Barbs (all male, one long-finned) and five Lemon Tetras (sex unknown). Within about a day, the Tetras had started to fin-nip each other; they're starting to do some significant damage.  <This is to be expected.... if it gets "bad", you may wish to return the tetras in exchange for a less "nippy" tetra; normally I would recommend increasing the number in the school, but in a 15g tank, that's a bit tough.> The Barbs are being left alone, and seem happy and healthy. Is this likely to be a continuing problem, or is it a transitory establishment of pecking order? If the latter, when can I expect it to stop?  <This is a behaviour normal for many different tetras.> Would it help to increase the size of the school (if so, to what)?  <Perhaps 8 to 10 fish....> I'm afraid that would be pushing the limits of the tank <I agree.> (although everyone will be moved to a 60 gal in about a month and a half), <Ahh! You could aim for 8-10 of them, then, and just be diligent about water quality for now. See if this number decreases the overall damage.> since in two weeks I'm going to be adding a three-inch Clown Loach that needs to get out of his current home. Is the tank just too small for the Tetras? If so, are they likely to survive until I can get them into the larger tank?  <Probably will be "okay" till then. Just watch them.... and be prepared to return or otherwise intervene if necessary.> Are there other factors I've forgotten to take into consideration here?  <Actually, sounds pretty good so far.> Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks so much, -Taya <Wishing you well, -Sabrina>

Lemon Tetras, Nipping, Behaviour - II - 11/28/2005 Dear Sabrina, <Hi, Taya! Sabrina with you again.> First, another round of thanks to you and the rest of the crew for keeping this site going. I'd be lost without it... :)  <And again, thank you for these words of inspiration.> I have follow-up questions on the fin-nipping Lemons (see original correspondence below), as well as a few unrelated queries.  <Cool.> For reference, on both tanks described below, ammonia/nitrites are 0, nitrate runs around 10 ppm just before the 25% weekly water changes, temp is 78-80, and pH is 7.8. Assorted plants and bogwood in both tanks; Marineland Bio-Wheel 125 on the 15 gal, mini on the 10 gal. Fish are fed small amounts (as much as can consume in 20 - 30 sec) twice per day, rotating through Hikari micro-pellets, TetraMin flakes, freeze-dried bloodworms, and frozen (thawed) brine shrimp. Hoping to add in some fresh veggie matter as soon as I figure out what form it should take.  <Sounds great.> Lemons first: shortly after receiving your email, I brought home 5 more Lemon Tetras from LFS. Unfortunately, the addition did nothing to resolve (or even disperse) the destructive behavior.  <Ahh, bummer!> I merely had ten nippers instead of five!  <Yikes.> After a week and a half I couldn't stand it any more, and moved the five worst offenders to a 10 gal hosp/QT tank that I'd started up in the meantime. (For better or worse, I can keep track of which tetras are which due to the individual patterns of chomps and tears in their fins. *sigh*)  <Ouch.> Things calmed down slightly after that, but not as much as I'd like. The five in the hosp/QT tank are schooling a bit more, but still actively harassing each other as well, and one seems to get particularly harassed around feeding time - I'm not sure he's getting much to eat. The five that remain in the 15 gallon tank have settled into territories of sorts - four hide behind various plants and logs, and defend their small quarters, while the fifth keeps the majority of the center tank to himself and takes on all comers, as it were.  <Sounds like the tank may just be too small for these guys to school comfortably.> (They're all still completely ignoring the Rosy Barbs, and vice versa.)  <Ah, good. At least there's that.> I tried adding more plants to rearrange/erase territories; I now have a more attractive tank, but it didn't change the fish behavior at all. This is NOT what I'd had in mind when I acquired what I thought were fairly mellow schooling fish! (This based on reading in various fishy books, prior to discovery of WWM. Though in searching here, I haven't found any mention of this much aggression in Lemons...)  <In many tetras, it's not uncommon.> Is there any hope that once I've got them in the 60 gallon tank, the Lemons will calm down, re-grow their pretty fins, and behave themselves?  <It is entirely possible. At that point, you could even try further increasing the school - but I, personally, would go with a different species entirely. Uhh, just for my own personal preference, really. I don't like watching little fish beat the crap out of each other.> Or should I try to take them back to the LFS before any more time elapses, and try again with something else?  <I would, but you can certainly try with the larger space and see how it goes.> Did I have the misfortune to happen upon a particularly psycho bunch of fish?  <Stranger things have happened! <grin>> I'd like to make this work, if I can, but I'm not really interested in an ongoing battle in my tank(s). Related query: Your original reply makes it sound like some/most tetras are fairly nippy critters. Is my hope for a peaceful group of schoolers doomed?  <Mm, no.> My only prior experience with tetras is a group of 5 or 6 Diamond tetras that I had in my childhood tank. I recall them being very well behaved. If you think I should re-home the Lemons and try again, can you recommend some peaceful tetras?  <Sure.> Would Diamonds be a good choice, or am I misremembering how peaceful they were?  <I've never kept them, so can't speak from experience.> I'd prefer something medium-sized (for a tetra), with a silver or yellowish body and perhaps a little bit of color on the fins. My fish books (Baensch Atlas and others) are no help - pretty pictures, but describe nearly all tetras as "peaceful schoolers."  <My personal preference goes toward, in this order, "green Neons", "flame" tetras, Rummynose tetras, then Neons and cardinals.... None of which really fit your bill. If you look hard enough, you might find gold Congo tetras.... These GORGEOUS African fellows are moderately sized (2-3", or thereabouts) and have a lot more gold/brassy color than their more common, more blue counterparts. "Regular" Congo tetras do have some yellow to their mostly blue/silver bodies and really do grow into beautiful animals. Their finnage is excellent, as well, and they're not very nippy. Do please look into Congos, gold or otherwise.> <<I must second the suggestion for the Congo tetras.  They are truly beautiful in a way few photos capture.  They are peaceful enough (though a wee bit jumpy at times) for most hatchets, and other flighty fishes.  Marina>> On to the other questions:  (1) The tap water here runs at about pH 7.9; my tanks are at 7.8 after the fish-plant-bogwood balance has equilibrated. After researching things, it seems like stability is generally preferable to a specific pH point, but 7.8 still seems a bit high for the fish I want to keep.  <Stability is, in fact, key.> I'd like to get it down to somewhere closer to 7.0, and am hoping to approach this via adding peat to my filtration system.  <It'll work - and quickly. Be cautious of how much peat you add, and go at this slooooooowly.> The owner of LFS, while well-meaning, is no help; he tells me this is unnecessary, the fish will do "fine" without it, and I shouldn't "complicate matters." ("I own fish, sir. Matters are already complicated.")  <Heh! True enough!> At this point, I don't know how alkaline our water is, and I understand that the buffering capacity makes a difference, but in general, will peat filtration offer any hope of getting near this goal? (And if not, what should I do?)  <It very likely will. Again, be slow and cautious about it.> If so, how do I introduce this most safely, given that I already have fish in the system and don't want to shock them with a rapid change? Can I start with a very small amount of peat in the filter and increase it over weeks/months?  <Yup.> I have no idea what quantity of peat effects what sort of pH drop.  <It will depend upon the age of the peat, the buffering capacity of the water, etc. Also, it can change (slowly) over time.> (I'm going to have to do this "on the fly" in the aquarium: storage/water aging containers, as well as the 60 gal tank, are awaiting the end of a remodel.)  <Exciting!> Also, assuming I can achieve a stable, lower pH, what do I then do when I (inevitably!) buy more fish, given that they will be accustomed to the higher pH of the store tanks? (It's the *only* LFS with good stock within an hour's drive - can't just switch suppliers.) Is the typical "float the bag in the tank and then gradually add tank water to it" method going to avoid shocking them?  <Nope.> Instinct tells me no, and I don't have the resources to set up a "pH acclimation" tank.  <Anything less than a few to several hours' acclimation will be worthless in regards to acclimating to pH. Very seriously, it's better just to "dump" the fish in after acclimating for temperature! Your best option, here, is to do a "drip" acclimation in a bucket - type "drip acclimation" into our search bar on the WWM homepage and you'll find loads of information. That should get you all set.> (Can't do a bunch of fluctuations in the hosp tank, because it may have a semi-permanent resident. Which brings us to...) (2) My finless clown loach.  <Ouch!> The 60 gallon tank I'm about to have (T minus 45 days and counting) is an old tank of mine currently under the care of my parents. Sole occupants: 6 clown loaches, about 3" each. For reasons unknown (likely a combination of stress due to poor water quality, infrequent cleanings, and perhaps fishy psychology beyond my ken), <And mine> five of the loaches have mercilessly bullied the sixth. I found out (Arrgh) that the poor thing has spent most of the past year hiding in a log, without fins/tail. I mean completely, totally, nipped away down to the body. Gone. Nada. <Wow, and again, ouch!> (All other loaches are happy, healthy, and normal-looking.) Oddly enough, the bullied loach (when brave enough to leave the log) still gets around adequately, if awkwardly, has a good appetite, and seems otherwise okay. (Mom says if she feeds during the day, it's the first one out at feeding time, and comes up to say hello - but if the other loaches come out, it flees immediately.) All this revelation resulted in an immediate cross-state fish transfer (couldn't stand the thought of the fish being subjected to any more harassment), and it is now in residence in my hospital tank (along with the five Lemons, who ignore it).  <Ah, good.> Spends most of its time hiding (still adjusting from the move), but when it comes out, seems okay, if a little washed out - and of course, completely without fins. I've looked pretty closely, and don't see any evidence of fin rot, ich, or other disease. My question (after that long-winded introduction): what's the prognosis for this guy/gal? Given a stress-free place to recuperate, decent water quality, and no competition for food, is there any hope of those fins growing back after being gone for a year or more?  <Hopefully, but in all honesty, I couldn't be sure. It will depend upon the extent of the damage.> If so, what's the expected timeline?  <Quite a long haul, I fear.> Should I be treating with something?  <I probably would.... but am uncertain whether you should or not. If you do, I'd use Nitrofurazone, if possible.> If fin regrowth is unlikely, can a finless fish be a happy fish? (I'd think not, even without competition/aggressors, but...) Is it kinder to put it out of it's misery?  <If it's eating, and can get around.... well, you're the best judge of it, as you have contact with the animal, and I don't.> I want to do the right thing, but I have absolutely no idea what that might be. Addendum - yes, I realize that if the loach pulls through, it can't stay in the 10 gal for too long. I'll deal with that if/when we get there. Fins first, additional tanks later. :)  <Of course.> (3) About those storage vessels for aging water prior to tank changes... I've seen Rubbermaid containers recommended. Will new containers, with a thorough rinsing, be adequate, or should they be lined with something?  <Unlined containers are fine.> If so, what? I worry about plastics (either the containers or liners) leaching things into the water, particularly if I'm heating the water.  <A good thing to be concerned over. I have used Rubbermaid and Sterlite products with no problems. I would clean these thoroughly with a diluted bleach/water solution and allow to air-dry for a couple days, maybe even soak 'em for a couple days and discard the water.> Thanks in advance for your time and help!  <You bet.> Anxiously awaiting advice, -Taya <All the best to you and your finless friend, -Sabrina>

Lack of information re Lemon Tetras Hi I have two lemon tetras and they did not eat for some reason, and last night they did not eat. I am concerned about them. What should I do?  <... how long have you had these fish? In what sort of system? Of what history? What are you feeding them? What's your water quality?  Bob Fenner> 

Lemon Tetras not eating I am feeding them flake food , and my water quality is doing good. I have had them for a very long time, and they are still not eating is that a problem?  <Mmm, could be the type of dried food, poor water quality, low temperature... What is your water pH? What is the history of this set-up? What were the fish/es eating before you got them? Bob Fenner>