Speaking of being clueless...

In the past (as little as two weeks ago), in order two feed my two catfish, I would try to drop just the right amount of fish flakes in the tank to have a few fall between the cracks and land on the gravel for the active little bottom-feeders. Now I've read time and time again that the main way that beginners screw up their tanks is by overfeeding (leading to unhealthy polution), but I could see no other way to get food to them. Plus, I thought maybe I was a pretty talented feeder.


After seeing a little whiteness on a couple fin tips of one of the newer black-skirt tetras, I became concerned he might have a minor fungal infection. I went to old-reliable, Alamo Aquatic Pets, and asked for help. In addition to giving me a tiny bottle of MelaFix to clear up a possible infection, I also learned a great way to feed bottom-feeders - check that - the only way to feed them: sinking wafers. Sure enough, when I siphoned my tank that weekend, there was an unbelieveable amount of crap hiding in the gravel. The hope is that when I feed flakes now, I don't feed so much that they fall to the gravel. That should keep the gravel a bit cleaner, and my fish a bit healthier.

The only trick with that is getting Pepper to stop frightening the fish when I'm feeding. A high percentage of food is able to sink to the bottom when all the fish are hiding behind plastic plants in fear of the mighty cat...