We have no more listed events for 2001. Now comes the hard part: we need to update the calendar for 2002! If you have an event planned with rough or exact dates, please let us know. You can use the (hopefully) convenient submission form on the events calendar page.
Contribute something to the Goldfish Report! Please provide any articles, news items, photos, comments and requests to the editor, Vince McCarty, for inclusion in the Report. Vince has offered a set of topics for future issues, to try and get all of you to dig back in your trove of experiences and create a contribution for the Report. These are listed below, with the first on the list due for the next issue:
How to clean a fish tank? There are right ways and wrong ways. Never use soap, commercial cleansers, or anything that might leave a toxic residue. If you have accidentally used something like this and it is causing problems with the fish (or hopefully there are no fish in the tank yet), then you need to empty the tank, wipe the inside with household ammonia (in a well ventilated spot) and then rinse the tank thoroughly with hot water. Perhaps using a hose from a utility sink in the laundry room. There should be no ammonia smell at all when you are done.
If you just need to clean up a tank, you can use household ammonia or vinegar (don't mix) as cleaning agents. You can use table salt as an abrasive agent with either, though it will likely scratch plastic tanks. A plastic pot scrubber is a good cleaning tool for glass or plastic tanks. Hot water and scrubbing is usually sufficient without these other agents. Be warned that most sponges sold now contain antibacterial compounds that are not good for fish if you use them directly in a stocked tank. If you use them while cleaning an empty tank, be sure you thoroughly rinse the tank with hot water afterwards.
To sterilize a tank, clean the tank as described above and then fill it with liquid bleach diluted with around 30-40 parts water. For example, 1-2 gallons of bleach for a 55 gallon aquarium. Cover the tank and let sit for at least 24 hours. Any algae left in the tank should disappear completely during this process. Empty the tank and wash it out thoroughly with hot water until there is no chlorine smell (get a second opinion), and then dry the tank in direct sun if possible.