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It depends on bioload, filter size, etc. I clean mine out about once or twice a month or whenever flow seems to be reduced. No need to get them super clean, just rinse the worst of the gunk off in a bucket of tank water.

Cardinal tetras have a reputation as fragile fish. I think it's not so much that they are hard to take care of as that they are often in bad shape when they arrive at the store.

He's a cutie! The kinosternids are rapidly becoming my favorite turtles.

That's a great tank for H. cinerea. If you're collecting your own frogs, your other local treefrogs would also work well- H. chrysoscelis/versicolor, H. avivoca, H. squirella, H. femoralis, H. gratiosa, or Pseudacris crucifer would all be fine in that tank. Just don't put a big green or barker...

You can also try asking at http://caudata.org for local breeders.

Listen to Lupin! It's a shame there aren't more Chinese species available in the worldwide trade; there are many beautiful cyprinids and other fishes from that country. Several snakeheads hail from China, including Channa asiatica, C. punctata, and C. striata. Many danios of the genus...

Weather loaches get too big and prefer cool water. I think the rest of these would be OK together, but schooling species should be in groups of 5 or 6 at the least. If you are not prepared to deal with large numbers of fry, get guppies that are all the same sex. As was already mentioned, the...

That'll work. I've got some old incandescent reflectors in which I can put a high-wattage CFL or two. I thought perhaps PC's were more efficient than screw-in CFL's. Thanks again for your help!

Much appreciated! It'll be a while before I can afford a PC fixture, so I may just set it in a sunny window with a couple CFLs shining on it for the moment.

Thanks, Amphiprion. Is there a specific wattage or color temp I should look for?

I'm a newbie to SW, and my first tank is laughably simple- a ten gallon with a UGF (I know, but I intend to keep the bioload small) and some gravel. I picked up some amphipod-and-polychaete-infested red algae at the lfs today, which the clerk called 'red ogo'. I asked what sort of lighting it...

I use oak leaves too. I don't wash them or anything, just plop them in and put gravel on top. If you mean for them to be sitting on top of the substrate, you'll probably need to soak them until waterlogged, or else weight them down somehow. In western NC you won't have any oaks with...

You don't have to be in the subtropical parts of the US to find plants. I've collected Ceratophyllum, Elodea, Riccia, Ricciocarpus, Chara, Nitella, various aquatic mosses and macroalgae, Echinodorus, Sagittaria, Ludwigia, Azolla, Lemna, Spirodela, Wolffia, Vallisneria, Cabomba, Polygonum...

You have to search a bit to find them. Dense submerged vegetation or leaf pack usually harbors a lot of them; they are present in smaller numbers in and on logs and rocks and in gravel. I have found them almost every where I've looked, except for a few very swift mountain streams.

Scuds (amphipods) are these guys: They are considerably larger than daphnia; the scuds I raise are about 3/8" to 1/2" long, but some get a bit bigger. They swim less than daphnia and spend most of their time crawling about or hiding in dense cover, much like shrimp. Scuds are abundant in...

Daphnia will definitely breed in your RCS tank, as will copepods and other microcrustaceans. There's a "What are these little things swimming in my shrimp tank" thread here every few days.

Oh man, I cut tobacco exactly once when I was a kid. It left me so sick I could hardly move the next day. Some people just react badly to it, apparently. You've been given a lot of good suggestions here, UNV. If you have a little startup capital you could also try auto detailing- you'll...

Yes, bloodworms are the larvae of midges in the family Chironomidae, part of the "True Fly" order Diptera. The adults looks similar to mosquitos (family Culicidae) but do not bite. They are abundant in most parts of the world. Glassworms are also midge larvae, but from a different family, the...

Artificial rocks and driftwood are usually made of aquarium-safe resin and should cause you no problems. Just be sure to wash them thoroughly before adding to the tank, as there may still be mold release on the outside of the object.

Bloodworms are hard to culture indoors because they have a flying adult stage. During the warmer months you can place a bucket of water outdoors with a little crushed grass or similar in it; this will attract adult insects, such as midges and mosquitos, who will lay eggs in the water. Just be...