Emma

I was originally going to purchase a betta through a US seller, but for the most part the breathtakingly spectacular bettas seem to be from Thailand. Have any of you done this before? Tips, positive or negative experiences, or anything else I should know?

My most recent batch of molly fry had just three, from a young female who had never given birth before. Two are strong and now almost two months old, almost an inch long. One obviously had a slight congenital swim bladder problem and sinks if he doesn't swim, but since he doesn't seem to have too much trouble swimming and is active and reasonably healthy, he is fine. He's a bit smaller than the others.

The two bigger ones seem to be outgrowing their nursery tank, which is just 5 gallons. I have no qualms about putting them into the main tank at this point. The question is what to do with the smaller one. Should I transfer all three to the main tank? Should I leave them all in the nursery tank? Should I transfer the two larger ones and leave the small one alone in the nursery tank?

My sister has developmental disabilities and for her birthday she says she wants a fish tank with fish. Her eyesight is okay, but a bigger fish would definitely be better. We probably want something a little bigger than a betta.

I'm wondering what sort of colorful fish will be on the bigger side, maybe about 4". I'm hoping the aquarium does not have to bee too large, 30 gallons or less. If it could live singly or in a pair, that would be great. Are there African cichlids that would fit this bill?

After adding my fifth aquarium, I have finally decided that I can't just keep sprinkling aquariums all over the house. I'm looking for a wall-to-wall shelving unit that will house many aquariums each. All my aquariums are between 10 and 30 gallons.

I understand it will not be cheap, but does anyone know what type of shelving is available that would hold this sort of weight? I know breeders have this sort of setup. Or would it be best to contract someone to build high weight-bearing shelves?

I have a 15 gallon tank with three creamsicle lyretail mollies, two females and one male. They have java moss and java fern and plenty of hiding places. The tank is extremely well established and both my ammonia and nitrites are at zero according to my home test. They were at zero two weeks ago when I went to get my water tested at my local aquarium store. Their water gets a 30% change every week, last performed Sunday. Local water conditions are hard, and my pH stays about 7.5.

One of my females gave birth about two weeks ago. The fry are doing well in a separate nursery tank.

My other female has been acting perfectly normally, but tonight when I went to feed her she was at the top breathing rapidly. She can swim, but is mostly hovering and breathing. She has no interest in food. Outwardly, she appears normal. Her other two tankmates are behaving perfectly normally.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to what is going on? She is getting close to birth by the calendar, but I would expect her to be huddled close to the gravel or plants if this were the case. Her belly is not that swollen and her solid-colored belly usually prevents me from seeing her gravid spot. I just don't think that's the only explanation.

Any suggestions or advice are welcome.