Popeye

[Nayoni]

Hi I’m Nayoni, one year into the hobby. I left my eight fishtanks in the care of a friend and I left six pages of instructions including CO2 feeding water changes adding water the difference in adding water an a water change! Food was taped to each tank with Post-it‘s for that particular fish in a plastic baggie for every day I was gone it was three days. Portion package  I mean I had everything separated out to go perfect and smoothly. 
     
A day or so after I return home from my trip I noticed that my Corydoras were not looking so well. A couple we’re having some swim bladder issues so I immediately did an epsom salt bath on the tank with  to drawl the fluid did a 85% water change I then medicated with your usual meds for a bacterial issue. Mind you at this point I used no actual real and antibiotics as of yet to right watever wrong was happening here.  anything that would be causing the swim bladder including constipation the Epsom salt helps with that as well was given for five days. I in did another water change and noticed that My Corydoras  were rubbing and itching on the sand like they had ick- I didn’t see any signs of it but they were all itching and bouncing off the sand like they had it. They looked like a bunch of Mexican jumping beans. 
so I then commence a five day ick treatment. Water change again now I am seeing Popeye I had five baby albinos in that tank -  five juvenile bronze- one adult bronze -2 adult female albinos and one emerald. I lost my emerald -one adult female albino )whom had just laid eggs for the first time)one baby albino 2 pom-pom crabs 36 shrimp. 
what’s worse is I have two beautiful bears and I looked in their tanks and saw that they both had Popeye three days ago which was the last day of round two of treatment on the Corydoras. I have now had to begin treatment on every tank I have  so 14 fish are under treatment right now and I am on day four of marycn 2 ,this is the second round of it , and the Popeye is getting worse in my Betos it’s getting better in my bronze Corydoras and worse in my albino Corydoras. I am at a loss and I don’t know what to do I’ve got perfect water parameters I’ve clean the tank so I’ve change the water and all of this because I found out my friend that was watching my fish while I was gone for three days put his fingers in the tanks in in the water that he put in the tanks I don’t know why he would do something like that you don’t think to tell people don’t put your fingers in the tank so I don’t know if he may have scratched here or picked his nose or not washed his hands after using the restroom and got bacteria in my tanks I don’t know all the fish are getting different sickness is it differentTimes but they’re all sick I don’t know what to do this will be around three for Corydoras - round 2 for the betas and I don’t know what to do after this course of treatment do it again? Any thoughts or anyone that has been through this or had a friend that put their fingers in every aquarium tank you have and contaminate them? I love everyone of my fishy‘s and my pom-pom crabs and my shrimpy‘s and to lose them is breaking my heart and I have spent every single day rushing back-and-forth with buckets of water sorry my electric hose doesn’t reach that far in this fish room I’ve been making myself crazy and I don’t know what to do after this round of treatment someone out there please help me? Please and thank you

[Nayoni]

Also I attached a picture of one of my Corydoras who has one I missing all of the sudden and the other one is just huge and black I don’t know if he’s blind but where did his eyeball go? Please excuse the algae on the coconut and would I took their plants out for medication and the medication is killing the bio filter so there’s a lot of white algae blooming right now

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi @Nayoni I am so very sorry about your tanks, what a tragedy. I've never treated popeye so bear with me on that, but I have treated Ich and have been successful. My recommendation there is to continue a parasitic treatment until all signs of any are gone (the rubbing/bouncing you described). My understanding of popeye is that it can be caused by parasites, bacteria and/or fungus so that seems rather bleak doesn't it. I'm going to guess that in your case it's probably parasitic AND bacterial- I'm going to further guess whatever it is your friend did caused something bacterial which raised the stress in your tanks causing immune systems to drop and the outbreak of Ich or whatever parasite you might be fighting. Treat your tanks also with appropriate doses of aquarium salts to help both of those things. I would probably change water every day in small increments before redosing any meds or salts. That would be my gameplan anyway. I was compelled to say something, hopefully there will be others with ideas. I wish you a whole lot of luck. 😞 

Edited July 5, 2021 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Gator]

Nayoni;

That one Cory does have ich, to get rid of ich and to keep ich out of your tank, raise your water temp to between 81 and 83 degrees. Ich can't survive water temps above 80 degrees and the temp range I recommend is not going to harm your fish.

The Cory rubbing against the gravel is called flashing and is caused by flukes and/or parasites. Again temps between 81 and 83 degrees, but if what I'm seeing are snails, you'll need to get rid of them so the parasites don't come back, and that's going to require a bit of work, but it can be done.

Your Cory lost it's eye due to popeye, it can't be cured and is usually fatal, but there is a preventative measure you can take to make sure it doesn't happen again.

It looks like I see air bubbles on the glass in one of your photo's, these are what causes popeye. The faucets (taps, spigots) in your house have strainers in them to keep sand and other particulate matter out of your glass of water, but they also add extra oxygen. If you were to take an empty water jug, fill it with water from your sink and let it sit for a couple of days, you'll see these bubbles on the inside of the jug, it is now safe to put in your tank. Never take water straight from the sink to your tank, let it sit for a few days to allow the bubbles to form in the jug before you add that water to your tank.  

It looks like your Betta has Dropsy, I'm sorry to that there is no cure and Dropsy is always fatal.

Oh, by the way, your tank looks great, but raise the water temp, get rid of all of the snails, and let your water sit for a few days before adding it to your tank.

Gator

[Colu]

most common cause of Popeye is poor water quality so test your water parameters  keep treating with maracyn2 and I would also add aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons the salt will help reduce the fluid buildup in the eye I would add the salt directly to the tank rather than stressing them out more with salt baths I would stop doing daily water changes as long as you have no ammonia or nitrites it will stress them out more with daily water changes it can take two courses of maracyn2 before you see any improvement maracyn2 treats gram negative bacterial infection so if your not seeing any improvement I would treat with maracyn as it treats gram positive bacterial infections  high levels of ammonia can cause flashing behaviour as it burns the gills

Edited July 5, 2021 by Colu

[Colu]

On 7/5/2021 at 5:35 AM, Gator said:

Your Cory lost it's eye due to popeye, it can't be cured and is usually fatal, but there is a preventative measure you can take to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Popeye can be cure most of the time with appropriate antibiotic medication and salt to reduce the fluid buildup in the eye and rectifying any water quality issues that could have caused it

 

On 7/5/2021 at 5:35 AM, Gator said:

looks like your Betta has Dropsy, I'm sorry to that there is no cure and Dropsy is always fatal.

Again dropsy can be cure when caught early with the appropriate antibiotic and salt to reduce the fluid buildup 

 

On 7/5/2021 at 5:35 AM, Gator said:

but if what I'm seeing are snails, you'll need to get rid of them so the parasites don't come back, and that's going to require a bit of work, but it can be done.

 if snails  come from an out door pond  they can get the parasites that causes black spot and pass it on to fish other then black spot the chances of fish getting parasites from snail in a tank are remote to non existent

Edited July 5, 2021 by Colu

[Colu]

He's some more information on the causes of Popeye

Edited July 5, 2021 by Colu

[laritheloud]

On 7/5/2021 at 12:35 AM, Gator said:

It looks like I see air bubbles on the glass in one of your photo's, these are what causes popeye. The faucets (taps, spigots) in your house have strainers in them to keep sand and other particulate matter out of your glass of water, but they also add extra oxygen. If you were to take an empty water jug, fill it with water from your sink and let it sit for a couple of days, you'll see these bubbles on the inside of the jug, it is now safe to put in your tank. Never take water straight from the sink to your tank, let it sit for a few days to allow the bubbles to form in the jug before you add that water to your tank.  

I'm going to politely disagree with using aged water. I think there are plenty of fish keepers who use water straight from the tap (such as with a Python hose) to fill a tank. Popeye is caused by physical injury or infection, and I don't think taking water straight from the sink has anything to do it.

[laritheloud]

On 7/5/2021 at 8:17 AM, Colu said:

He's some more information on the causes of Popeye

Agreed with all of this. I have a tetra that's had mild popeye unilaterally for as long as we've had her (a few months), and it hasn't gotten worse. She's been through a round of antibiotics and has had salt treatments, and her eye has never gotten worse, nor has it spread to other animals. We figure it was physical injury from the LFS, or from initial transfer into our tank. Our water quality has been kept up since then and I just keep a watch on her to make sure she doesn't get worse.

[Nayoni]

First of all thank you all so much for looking at the pictures and taking the time to let me know your opinions on treatments I have  done water changes I have ammonia indicators I have tested my water parameters and they’re all fine there’s no ammonia in any of my tanks. I have the indicators inside the tank I also used aquarium co-op test strips for the parameters in the ammonia and I also used the API liquid test to kit for ammonia again no ammonia   I use RO water so it’s not tapwater I have sponge filters and I started running a canister filter on the Corydoras tank as well. All I know is I’ve never had snails in my tank so if someone’s seen snails I haven’t seen them and I’ve only had one plant in that tank with theCorydoras and it was an OCTO plant that I got from aquarium co-op and there were no snails or pests in that plant  I quarantine my plants for two weeks before they go in any tank. I’ve never seen dropsy I have two Betos the one blue one in the picture his whole back is swollen and it’s almost in an arch like a frown it seems as if his whole body is swollen I haven’t tried salt in the beta tanks but I will do that I was careful with the Corydoras tank because they are a scale is fish so I just used Epsom salt because there’s no actual salt in it I tried to give one of them a salt bath and they couldn’t make it five minutes and it started to get weak and lifeless. My friend did tell me that he had put his fingers in all the tanks and in buckets of water that he was mixing minerals and stuff in before he put it in the tanks so he contaminated every single tank that I have with all of this stuff I feel awful because I’ve never had a death not even a shrimp and so far I have lost four of my precious Corydoras two of my pom-pom crabs and 36 shrimp I’ve had two of those Corydoras that died since I started in the hobby and the two betas I have I’ve had since I started the hobby. And he has contaminated and spread this throughout all of my tanks all of my tanks were crystal clear they are all heavily planted except a Corydoras tank just had the one big OCTO plant I really do you take the best care of my water in my fish every day I am checking and changing water and making sure they have the best of everything these answers I appreciate them so much they do make me sad and I’m losing a little bit of help because I’ve been fighting it for a couple weeks now with medications I do have parasite medicationI keep all medications on hand I was concerned about overloading all the fish with so many medications at once I did treat for Ick. I did two rounds of ick treatment first first. I did one round of parasite treatment and I’ve been doing Maracin oxy and now Maracin 2 I’m on the second round of I am three days into it. 
I will try everything suggested if someone could just direct me on what I should do next because I’m afraid to do all of these treatments at once I’m afraid it would be too much for the fish but it’s not just a Corydoras it’s also my two Betas. I got a look closer because I’ve never had snails in any of my tanks so I got to look in the Corredor tank and see if I see what you see I feel like there’s so many things wrong that all hope is lost at this point should I just treat with every medication at once or is there an order that you guys would suggest that I go in? Again I really do appreciate the information and advice from more experienced hobbyist I’ve only been in the hobby for a year this is the first time I’ve ever had a problem and I know it will be the last time I ever allow someone else to watch my fish for a weekend this all was caused by letting a friend take care of my fish for three days and their fingers in my tanks I’m trying not to be upset with them but I thought it was common sense that you do not put your hands in your fishtanks unless they are clean so next I would ask you guys with your experience so please advise what order I should do these treatments and now what’s the first thing I should do should I do A full water change on all of the tanks and then what medications should I go with I have one Corredor a tank and then two separate beta tanks I have to treat a total of 14 fish. So please advise which treatment you start with first and we can start all over or should I just try all of them at once I know that I follow the directions on the packaging that you guys probably know a better way to do this than what the packaging says as you’re way more experience than me so I really appreciate your experience and advice and I would love to get more of it if you wouldn’t mind taking the time I would love to save as many fish as I can if it all possible thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you guys again on where I should go from Doing a water change today I’m just going to go ahead and do a large water change on all three tanks and wait for your guys advice on what order I should do these medications in or if I should do all at once and if it goes outside of the directions on the packaging just let me know I’m willing to try anything thank you so so much. As I was writing this post and taking pictures I turn the lights on to my tanks and I had three Corydoras on their back’s struggling to breathe that were dying so I euthanized them with clove  oil. Just a few jobs first to put him to sleep and then I put the rest in and they’re literally die in one by one in front of me right now my Betos are not dying yet but my Corydoras  are all literally  going one by one as we speak. As soon as that euthanize one another one starts dying and my heart is just breaking right now. I pray that there’s hope for my baiters but I’m afraid that there’s not you guys were right literally this morning I just wanted to time is soon as I euthanize one another one starts dying and is struggling on its back floating and I have to pull it out and euthanize it I believe at this point I’m gonna have to pull them all out and euthanize them. 
my two betas are not acting this sick so I don’t have the heart to do it yet with them but I do see the Corydoras they can hardly get to the top to breathe air they’re all struggling so unfortunately I understand what I have to do. 
I say this with a heavy heart. I will keep fighting for my Betos until I see that there’s no fight left so I’m still open for any advice for those two please

[Nayoni]

Update I monitored my Corydoras tank and literally one at a time they were turning over on their back’s and dying so I sat and watched the tank and each time one started to go I carefully put it to sleep first in a container with dechlorinated water in a few drops of clove oil  and waited a few minutes to make sure they were asleep and then continued euthanizing with A few more jobs a clove oil.  if anyone uses this method please only do a couple drops first in the chlorinated water and carefully put your dying fish in it allow them five minutes sometimes ten to be fully asleep before you put a few more drops of clove oil in to overdose( if you do not wait until they are sleep completely they will panic and it will be a very scary and volatile death for the fish) so if you use this method of euthanizing your fish and only when necessary please make sure they’re asleep first and make sure that they are 100% dying. I had 12 Corydoras. 10 babies 2 adults. And as soon as I would get one asleep in the glow oil another one with turnover and was dying. It’s a terrible day for me. I loved my beloved Corydoras and this was the hardest thing I have had to do. Please if you allow anyone to watch ur fish for any amount of time make sure you tell them to wash their hands befire feeding or anything with your tanks and to keep their hands out of the tanks and any water that goes in them. I feel Clove oil is the most humane way to euthanize bc ur simply putting them to sleep first kind of like when humans go under anesthesia and they don’t fight it they literally swim around a couple times and go to sleep and after five or 10 minutes when you overdose them they don’t even know it happened there’s no thrashing there’s no panicking or fighting they just go. I do however still have my two Betos they don’t seem like they’re in this bad of condition I do know Fisher good at hiding illnesses I will try to post some better pictures and see what you guys think I am nowhere near ready to euthanize these two fish after 12 Corredor‘s it’s a very sad day in my house right now so thank you all for the support and advice and any advice on my betas I love them so much and I just if there’s any chance to save them please let me know I will spend any amount of money on any medicine I will do anything. Thank you To🙏🏽 

[Colu]

What I would is treat all your fish with maracyn2 and epsom salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons for 1 week with the Cory's start with one table spoon for 5gallons and increase it over a couple of days just remember to only put back in the amount of salt you take out so if you do a 2 gallon water change only put one table spoon back in  Popeye a bacterial disease so I wouldn't treat for parasites I wouldn't mix medication that can kill your fish maracyn2 antibiotic medication active ingredient is minocycline so it will take 1-2 course of treatment before you will see improvement salt will help reduce the fluid buildup in eyes and protect your fish against fungus 

Edited July 5, 2021 by Colu

[Nayoni]

I’ve already done that and two rounds of marycin 2 and the Coreys were literally one after another flipping over and dying right in front of me this morning all 12 it’s like they went in the line 1st it was three at once and then they were just go in one at a time every time I put one down euthanize another one would flip over on its back and start dying I did everything I could I thought the good fight for weeks and I lost. But I do have my betas they’re on their second round of medicine and I do use Epsom salt to draw out the fluid I was told that it looks like they have dropsy and from what I’ve read I believe they have dropsy but I refuse to euthanize them at this time I’m trying to give them any fighting chance that they have first

[Nayoni]

@coru  Thank you so much for the advice I know it’s too late for the Coreys but I’m hoping it’s not too late for the Betos I will take any advice and try it I have nothing to lose I really appreciate your experienced opinion thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and try to help me thank you

[Odd Duck]

If you have a way to increase aeration, I would start that immediately.  I would also do large water changes since there may be a contaminant in the tanks, always using an appropriate water conditioner.  I agree with @Colu with the aquarium salt in the water and use a single antibiotic at a time or you can make your remaining fish sicker instead of better.  

Edited July 5, 2021 by Odd Duck

[Colu]

On 7/5/2021 at 5:59 PM, Nayoni said:

@coru  Thank you so much for the advice I know it’s too late for the Coreys but I’m hoping it’s not too late for the Betos I will take any advice and try it I have nothing to lose I really appreciate your experienced opinion thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and try to help me thank you

Have you done 2 full course of treatment for 6days each that what I ment

Edited July 5, 2021 by Colu

[Nayoni]

@coru  Thank you so much for the advice I know it’s too late for the Coreys but I’m hoping it’s not too late for the Betos I will take any advice and try it I have nothing to lose I really appreciate your experienced opinion thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and try to help me thank you. And I was three days in to my second course of marycin 2 when they started dying back to back one after another this morning. It was crazy one would fall on its side and start dying and I would pull it out and put it in the clover oil to put it to sleep and another one would fall over and I would pull it out and then another one it was just back to back literally I mean no time in between just back to back they were dying one by one I still have my betas and I’m still medicating and I’m doing salt and medication tonight I am going to keep fighting the good fight until I can’t anymore

[Colu]

When you have finished your second course of maracyn2  your if you see no improvement I would treat with maracyn as it treats gram positive bacterial infections while maracyn2 treats gram negative bacterial infection

[Gator]

Thanks to everyone for setting me straight about Popeye, I have since googled Popeye and Dropsy to learn more.

I'm 68 and except for the time I was in the military and for a couple of years after my divorce, I've had aquariums since I was 5, and I'm still fascinated by learning something new.

In all of that time, I've never had a fish that had Dropsy and only one Angelfish about 15 years ago that had Popeye.

Thanks again.

[Gator]

Laritheloud;

I have to politely ask you to think of all of the rivers in the world.

Some, such as the Nile, the Amazon, the Mississippi, the Mekong, the Missouri, and probably the Columbia, all start out as ice melt.

Others like the Rio Negro, the New, the Holston, the Little Tennessee, the St. Johns, and the St. Mary all start out from springs bubbling out of the ground.

It doesn't matter how a river starts, within three days, that water is aged, all manner of aquatic creatures live in it from then on. That water gets more aged the farther it flows and even more aquatic creatures live in it.

I ask you to call 1-800-PLAY-PBS to order “Rivers of Life” that has a one hour segment on each the Nile, Amazon, and Mississippi Rivers describing the life in, on, and along the banks of each of these rivers. I think you'll enjoy this DVD.

Sincerely

Gator

[Gator]

Laritheloud;

Hi.

In your last post to me you mentioned using a Python to vacuum your gravel and to refill your tank. I didn't know what a Python was so I went to my LFS to find out if they sold them, they do, but probably not for much longer.

I read the instructions and stated to the employee that the Python is an environmental hazard, a waste of clean drinking water, a hazard to not only the fish in our tanks, but also in the local creeks, lakes, and rivers.

First, you hook the Python up to your kitchen faucet, turn the water on, stick the gravel vacuum into your tank, turn a valve and using the Venturi principle, the water from the kitchen faucet starts the suction. If your house has a Septic tank, this is fine, you're only wasting clean drinking water. If you're on a municipal sewage system, the sewage treatment facility can not remove the diseases in your gravel so those diseases go directly into creeks and rivers affecting the native fish populations. This is happening all across the US.

If you have read any of my other posts, you may have read that I advocate the use of buckets for vacuuming the gravel. You can use the water that you've removed from your tank to water your houseplants, and if there is any left over, throw it out on your lawn, if you have one. Doing this is a whole lot cheaper and safer for the environment than buying chemical fertilizers.

Second, when you're refilling the tank, how do you neutralize the chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals before the water goes into your tank? How do you warm the water to a tolerable level so that the temp change doesn't shock and kill your fish? So I also advocate the use of aged water that has at least come up to room temp after several days.

Third, my hometown of Orlando, FL. bills itself as a water conscious city, and it really is. I'm 68 and except for 9 years of my life, I've had aquariums since I was five. I've been an environmentalist since I was 13, but it wasn't until I moved to Orlando in January of '79 that I really started learning about water. WOW, and I thought I already knew everything, but the Hydrological engineers through articles in the “Orlando Sentinel” showed me that I still have a lot to learn.

I told you about one DVD that you could order from PBS that is good, but there is another you may also be interested in titled “H2O: The molecule that made us.”

I hope you saved the phone number I gave you, but if not it's 1-800-Play-PBS.

By the way, I already have a “T” shirt that says, “I'm a tree hugger.”

Sincerely

Gator

[HH Morant]

Yep, I like Pythons too.

[Guppysnail]

On 7/9/2021 at 1:33 PM, Gator said:

Laritheloud;

Hi.

In your last post to me you mentioned using a Python to vacuum your gravel and to refill your tank. I didn't know what a Python was so I went to my LFS to find out if they sold them, they do, but probably not for much longer.

I read the instructions and stated to the employee that the Python is an environmental hazard, a waste of clean drinking water, a hazard to not only the fish in our tanks, but also in the local creeks, lakes, and rivers.

First, you hook the Python up to your kitchen faucet, turn the water on, stick the gravel vacuum into your tank, turn a valve and using the Venturi principle, the water from the kitchen faucet starts the suction. If your house has a Septic tank, this is fine, you're only wasting clean drinking water. If you're on a municipal sewage system, the sewage treatment facility can not remove the diseases in your gravel so those diseases go directly into creeks and rivers affecting the native fish populations. This is happening all across the US.

If you have read any of my other posts, you may have read that I advocate the use of buckets for vacuuming the gravel. You can use the water that you've removed from your tank to water your houseplants, and if there is any left over, throw it out on your lawn, if you have one. Doing this is a whole lot cheaper and safer for the environment than buying chemical fertilizers.

Second, when you're refilling the tank, how do you neutralize the chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals before the water goes into your tank? How do you warm the water to a tolerable level so that the temp change doesn't shock and kill your fish? So I also advocate the use of aged water that has at least come up to room temp after several days.

Third, my hometown of Orlando, FL. bills itself as a water conscious city, and it really is. I'm 68 and except for 9 years of my life, I've had aquariums since I was five. I've been an environmentalist since I was 13, but it wasn't until I moved to Orlando in January of '79 that I really started learning about water. WOW, and I thought I already knew everything, but the Hydrological engineers through articles in the “Orlando Sentinel” showed me that I still have a lot to learn.

I told you about one DVD that you could order from PBS that is good, but there is another you may also be interested in titled “H2O: The molecule that made us.”

I hope you saved the phone number I gave you, but if not it's 1-800-Play-PBS.

By the way, I already have a “T” shirt that says, “I'm a tree hugger.”

Sincerely

Gator

They sell pythons that are just siphon to a bucket. You do not need to hook to faucet. It’s just standard gravel vac. It’s what I use. 

[laritheloud]

On 7/9/2021 at 1:33 PM, Gator said:

Laritheloud;

Hi.

In your last post to me you mentioned using a Python to vacuum your gravel and to refill your tank. I didn't know what a Python was so I went to my LFS to find out if they sold them, they do, but probably not for much longer.

I read the instructions and stated to the employee that the Python is an environmental hazard, a waste of clean drinking water, a hazard to not only the fish in our tanks, but also in the local creeks, lakes, and rivers.

First, you hook the Python up to your kitchen faucet, turn the water on, stick the gravel vacuum into your tank, turn a valve and using the Venturi principle, the water from the kitchen faucet starts the suction. If your house has a Septic tank, this is fine, you're only wasting clean drinking water. If you're on a municipal sewage system, the sewage treatment facility can not remove the diseases in your gravel so those diseases go directly into creeks and rivers affecting the native fish populations. This is happening all across the US.

If you have read any of my other posts, you may have read that I advocate the use of buckets for vacuuming the gravel. You can use the water that you've removed from your tank to water your houseplants, and if there is any left over, throw it out on your lawn, if you have one. Doing this is a whole lot cheaper and safer for the environment than buying chemical fertilizers.

Second, when you're refilling the tank, how do you neutralize the chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals before the water goes into your tank? How do you warm the water to a tolerable level so that the temp change doesn't shock and kill your fish? So I also advocate the use of aged water that has at least come up to room temp after several days.

Third, my hometown of Orlando, FL. bills itself as a water conscious city, and it really is. I'm 68 and except for 9 years of my life, I've had aquariums since I was five. I've been an environmentalist since I was 13, but it wasn't until I moved to Orlando in January of '79 that I really started learning about water. WOW, and I thought I already knew everything, but the Hydrological engineers through articles in the “Orlando Sentinel” showed me that I still have a lot to learn.

I told you about one DVD that you could order from PBS that is good, but there is another you may also be interested in titled “H2O: The molecule that made us.”

I hope you saved the phone number I gave you, but if not it's 1-800-Play-PBS.

By the way, I already have a “T” shirt that says, “I'm a tree hugger.”

Sincerely

Gator

There are pythons that siphon to a bucket, but the ones that hook up to a sink are a really great tool for folks with very large tanks or disabilities that can't easily haul buckets of water around. It cuts down on time significantly (and after starting the suction by turning on the sink water you can turn it off again). I catch solids in a strainer and don't let them go down the sink.

Your mileage may vary, I think it's important to just use the tools that work for you.

[eatyourpeas]

For those looking for a python alternative, I use buckets to dechlorinate the water and make sure the temperature matches the tanks. I then put a small pump in said bucket and use vinyl tubing to fill the tanks from the bucket. No carrying heavy buckets. After siphoning the water from the tank into a different bucket, I pump the dirty water into my garden. Pump gets cleaned with H2O2 after each WC.

If you can use a smart plug, then the controlling device can turn the pump on and off for you remotely.

I hope this is helpful.