Crystals

Just curious.

Do you ever regret getting an indoor dog/puppy?

Especially when you consider:

One who you have to come home and let out a lunch. Walk when it is pouring rain, or snowing at -40 with 35 mile/hr winds. Keep it fairly quiet so you don't annoy neighbors. Ensuring your holidays are "dog-friendly" and always doing takeout when on the road, so the dog is never left in the vehicle without someone inside the vehicle (means no nice restaurant meals). Having to take the dog out even if you are down with the flu, or that occasional bout of laziness.

Do you ever regret having a dog/puppy? Or perhaps any other thoughts?

If you were asked to move a mountain, what would you say? That it is utterly impossible? But what if you did it by the shovel-full? And what if there were a million of us? Would it not be possible to move the entire mountain, or at least put a considerable dent into it?

What if I told you that there was an entire range of mountains? Would you say that it is impossible and give up? What if you chose to work on one mountain?

The mountains are Children dying from lack of food and clean water, Diseases like Aids which destroy families because they cannot afford the 61 cents a day for the 2 little pills which let them live, Children not attending school because they are trying to find food – never getting educated enough to create a future with hope, among many other mountains.

Are you saying they are too distant to help? Let me take you closer (http://www.hoopsofhope.org/index.cfm, www.worldvision.ca, www.waterforpeople.org, http://www.aidswalkforlife.ca/, www.Kiva.org, http://www.worldforworld.org/index.asp, http://www.joinred.com/red/#impact_135).

Are you saying they are not yours? If I were to bring a child who was dying from hunger and place him/her on your doorstep, when you opened the door would you say “you are not mine” and close the door, or would you help?

Are you saying you have no money? Who said you needed money? I said you needed a shovel. A 9 year boy in the US decided to tackle Aids (Laughing? I wouldn’t, this kid makes me embarrassed by how little I try). In 2004 he took his basketball in the school gym on World Aids Day and shot 2057 free throws to symbolize the 2057 kids that would die of Aids that day while he was in school. The school raised almost $3000 dollars, which provided children orphaned by Aids with food, shelter, clothing, schooling, and, finally, a Medical Testing facility. Last year over 200 locations did “Hoops for Hope”. In 5 years his idea raised almost a million dollars, this year it surpassed the million dollar mark.

Are you asking How? There are SO many ways, both across the world and in your own community.

You could help with local fundraising (Hoops for Hope or similar programs), you could volunteer (time & effort) at a homeless shelter, or at the local charity. You could dig through your closet and give unused clothing to the local Thrift store. You could send Christmas shoe boxes (Operation Christmas Child – Samaritan’s Purse). You could sponsor a child (about $41/mth through World Vision), or if you wish a little less $ commitment, World vision has a gift catalogue to send items you chose to families in most need (3 chickens can bring a family out of poverty). Want to see the same dollar help many people? Try microloans, you lend $25 to the loan of your choice, they pay it back and you can lend it again! (www.Kiva.org is a good one). The ways are endless.

The world is under siege. This is your call to arms.

How do you play with a dog in winter?

Winter here means 7 months of snow (3-4 feet of it), cold weather (three weeks of -30 Celsius and below, one week of -40C below), and lack of sun (sun rises/gives light at 9-10am and sets at 2-3pm), and outside of those times, it is so dark you can't see 10 feet, unless the moon is full and shining.

So how can I ensure that, when I get a dog (border collie cross), it gets enough exercise every day when it is so dark out? It is nearly impossible to tire a dog with walking. Fetching is good but tough when you can't see what you throw (and when it promptly buries itself in 2 feet of snow). I have no fence in back yard for him to run loose in - off leash is fine as long as one of us are outside. Nearest dog park is 2 hrs away, so that is out of range. Our house isn't that big, and the parents refuse to put a treadmill in the house just for the dog (I don't blame them - we would have to sell our couch to have enough room for it).

I think maybe dig a maze in the back yard and run around it (exercise for me and the dog...) - there are some lights on the house that can give enough light to see where you walk in the back yard.

Ideas?

I currently sponsor with Compassion - Christian Child Sponsorship, but while the children aren't exactly well off, they get 3 meals a day even without the sponsorship program (though the sponsorship provides schooling and medical care they may otherwise not get).

I constantly hear about hundreds of children dieing everyday from hunger alone, but where are these children and which sponsorship/charity program helps them?

Is it possible to change a cuckoo clock (weight driven) to be battery powered? Is there a kit, or businesses that do it?

It is annoying to constantly reset it if you are gone over the weekend.

Does anyone have any personal experience with weather loaches (aka dojo loach) eating the Malaysian trumpet snails?

I know in theory that loaches eat snails, but *do these particular loaches eat these particular snails?*

I like snails to clean tanks, but prefer to throw excess to my loaches (they are the only kind who can live with goldfish...). I find Malaysian trumpet snails to clean/aerate the substrate the best.

I am planning on a DIY background on the outside of a tank I haven't yet bought. It will have an Aquaclear 20 (which I also haven't bought). Please state which size tank you have the Aquaclear 20 on, I prefer a 10g tank for the gap between tank and filter (D).

I would like actual measurements.

Diagram of measurements (may have to zoom in to 100%): http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq176/c_scherer...

I wish to know dimensions of (refer to diagram):

A. width of bottom

B. Width of top (if different)

C. Height of filter from the bottom of the black tank edging to bottom of filter

D. Width of gap between filter and tank (is width different from top and bottom?)

I have googled it, but sites differ and sites also don't measure exactly.

A and B should be about 4"-5"

C should be less than 5"

D no measurement listed but most sit about 3/8" - 3/4" gap

Please note: Any idiots who wouild write stupid comments - go vote on undecided questions. I am tired of you.

Thanks.

I am planning on getting a 10g (yes small, but as an office fish tank it is much bigger than the norm and is the biggest I can go). I want to put at least 1 pair of cichlids in it. I have numerous tanks and experience with fish in general, but no real experience with cichlids.

I would prefer cichlids that are easy to breed (I love to see the babies!), and will let the young live unharmed for 1-2 weeks after hatching. I live 5 min away from work and have a grow-out tank for babies once they are a couple of weeks old.

My ph ranges from 7.2 - 7.6 depending on the season, the tank will have a heater, HOB filter, lights, and auto-feeder.

I am thinking of one pair of kribs, or 1 pair of convicts, or 1-2 pairs of shell dwellers.

I think I would really like the kribs, but online sites are vague and contradict one another as to the tank size, can 1 pair live and breed in a ten gallon?

I am fairly certain convicts would fit (and definitely breed!), but it can be hard to home all the youngsters as they are very common.

I know next to nothing about shell-dwellers, and am open to suggestions as to species (I prefer colourful and hardy fish).

PS. any idiots about to answer for points when they have no clue what they are talking about - go vote on undecided questions instead - I am tired of you.

Thanks.

I am thinking of adding a pair of Albino Bristlenose plecos to my 55g tank. My tank:

ph 7.5, temp 72, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are zero. It is heavily planted and occupied by a variety of small tetras (neons, emperor, glowlight, etc), spixi snails, and some cherry + Crystal red shrimp. Has a couple of DIY caves and driftwood.

Questions:

Will they eat/uproot my plants? (fanwort, crypts, swords, other unidentified ones)

How easily will they breed in my setup?

Will they eat/harm any of my fish, snails, or shrimp?

How good are they at eating algae (younger and older?)?

I am also thinking of adding a breeding pair of Blue rams to the tank. How will they get along? Will the plecos eat the eggs/fry?

Also any other info would be welcome.

What kind of pleco or loach can I add with my goldfish?

I would like them to breed (prefereably easy to breed), I would prefer one that would spawn in a cave where the goldfish can't get into or at least not eat their own spawn. I don't want anything that will bother my goldfish, I currently have a 13 inch common pleco who doesn't bother them, but eventually he will just get too big for my tank. Then I would like to get another pleco/loach that will preferably breed. Any suggestions?

I am hearing that Bristlenoses are easy to breed, but I don't know how they do with goldfish. I have looked at the weather loach, but they are near impossible to breed.

Backgound info:

I have a 65g goldfish tank with a 10 goldfish who are about 3-4 inches (some of the goldfish will return to lfs as they grow so space isn't an issue). I have an aquaclear 110 on the tank. My ph is about 7.4, temp is a steady 68-70 (room temp - though there is a heater that will kick in if it drops below 60). Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 30, before water changes.

***I can only use a calculator with +,-,*, and / buttons!***

My question is "In 10 years what rate (%) is needed to turn $1000 into $2000? Rate is to 2 decimal places"

Your formula is: investment x rate to the power of years equals final amount. see formula below.

investment (rate)^years = final amount

Can someone walk me through this - step by step with explanation?

The teacher has no clue how it is done and I can't seem to find it on google. My test is on Monday and I also need to practise this concept - any help appreciated!

I have several gammarus from a friend and most of them have an orange spot on them. From what I understand it is either a parasite or a berried female. What is the difference in appearance - any pictures?

If it is the parasite, it needs another host to complete the lifecycle. In a tank with no predators, will the parasite die out as the infected shrimp die out? Or can the parasite infect newly hatched shirmplets or other adults if they eat the deceased infected shrimp?

Will the parasite eventually die out and provide shrimp free of the parasites?

I am referring to the Nitrifying bacteria that turn ammonia into nitrite, the ones that turn nitrite into nitrate, and the anaerobic ones which turn nitrate into nitrogen gas (note the anaerobic are actually low O2, not no O2).

How long can they live with the filters/water flow turned off (out of tank filters, not in tank)?

Minutes, hours, days? How long till most or all are dead from either lack of O2 or of starvation?

Is there a way to lower nitrates without changing lots of water? Of course there will also be 10-25% weekly water changes, but occasionally life causes the tank to go two weeks between water changes. I heard there was some other type of filter you could also add to the tank that cultured some sort of bacteria that would somehow use all/almost all of available nitrates. (how this is possible without the dieing bacteria adding more ammonia than removing nitrate is beyond me).

Some background info:

I have brought my pond goldfish fish inside for the winter, my 65g aquarium has an established nitrogen system. I do weekly-biweekly 30-40% water changes to keep nitrates down, but in this size of tank, that is alot of water and the nitrates still aren't where I want them - 0. The tank contains 14 2-4 inch (nose to end of tail) goldfish. It is probably overstocked but I have a filter rated for 300gph on it - over-filtered to compensate. The # of fish will decrease as they get bigger (more will be given to the pet stores in fall) so the tank is not in danger of having 14 10 inch fish in it.

Will craft foam (the flexible stuff from walmart/dollar stores) affect water/fish? I enjoy making decorations (using aquarium sealant for glue). I was planning to use the foam to hold up a piece of slate for a cave as the stones I usually use are now discontinued. Also I live in a very rural location - often not reaching the city for a month or two.

The foam doesn't discolor the water, change ph, or any other readings I have tests for. Are there chemicals that are released that I can't test for?

Is it possible to keep native fish in an aquarium in Alberta, Canada?

I have a nice 65g tank that I would like to put lake chub, small shiners, and minnows in. Nothing endangered, threatened, or anything, just the really common minnows.

But I do not know what the law says about it. What does the law say regarding this? Is there a permit I can get? How would one go about catching the minnows - the legal way?

I am looking for a workbench which top measures at least 38 inches x 20 inches, but I have room for 20 x 48. It needs to be able to hold at least 900-1000 pounds. I live in Edmonton Area (Alberta, Canada). There just isn't enough time for me to build it before it snows. Any one know where I can find one at a decent price?

Thanks in advance.

I have a pond that is 300-500 gallons (not too sure). Our town water is normally about 7.5-8 (which is fine with me). after filling our pond, 1.5-2 weeks later the ph skyrocketed to 12 ph or higher (in the space ofabout 3-5 days) and has been that way for over a week. The water turned very green at the same time of hte ph swing. How can I bring it down? A ph of 9 is still tolerable for fish. I am aware that if I bring it down too swiftly that my fish will undoubably die (so far they seem unconcerned, but I am not). I have tried partial water changes, it brings ph down a bit for a day or two (about 10-11, still not fish safe), but then rockets backup again. I had several plants which I was hoping would buffer against ph swings. It has rained almost a week straight here, the ph is still 11-12 - unaffected by rain. It is a plastic pond (no concrete or lime). I have never had this problem in my fish tanks (55g and a 10g) and I have had them over 8 years. Any help appreciated