Freakyfish

Does this floating hatchery have a mesh bottom or somewhere the Loaches could have suckled them out I have seen fish get fry off the bottom of most hatcheries Brad

Well bascially we have said the same thing though your way is alot more technical I should have said the Air feels colder at the start of my last post Also your right as the Humidity gets higher this method works slower though it will still work in a humid area until 100% saturation is reached As a Forecast Analyst I would assume you have been taught on the subject and would agree that the fan method will work alot better then frozen Ice I am still wondering Mystic why your Ice melts slower then everyone elses? Brad

Mystic If the tank is 30c the Ice in the bottle will melt exactly in the same time doesnt matter where in the world you are Maybe your summer isnt as long as here though the 30c is still the same The fan method will work alot better then ice though it isnt easiest for everyone If your talking tanks that are getting larger IE larger the 100litre then Ice is a waste of time if you want to cool the tank properly Brad

The fan method will work in a humid area Next time you find yourself in a humid spot simply sit yourself in front of a fan and you will notice the air hitting your face is colder then the still air In a hot fish tank the hotter water rises and some heat loss happens at the surface of the water If your using a fan the airmovement will move this hot air make the air above the water alittle cooler The heat from the water will try and rise again as the air above is colder and heat rises Therefore eventually you will remove enough heat from the water to safely cool your tank When i first use ice in my tank I had a 600 litre tank and i added 12x 3litre bottles of solid ice All of them melted within 30mins and i noticed a drop from 30c to 29c The pedastal fan dropped it from 30c to 25c within 2 hours and kept it there all summer I know what id prefer to do and I know what works Ice is a waste of time and money IMO Brad

If your going to use ice your wasting your time A pedestal fan blowing on the surface of your water will cool the water below room temp Its the only way to do it properly without Airconditioning or a Chiller Ill get herefishiefishie to post up a pic for ya Brad

The water will clear up hopefully inside a few days Large water changes will not help you with a bacterial bloom Just keep your feeding do a bare minimum Seachem Clarity will help clear your water overnight Brad

Id say more then likely in Purigen Is it about the same size roughly as a wallet? Very small pellets size granules in a very fine mesh bag? If so http://www.seachem.com will tell you everything you need to know about Purigen

Alot of Plecostomus dont require wood in their diet but its very very good for them Thats why alot of Higher end Algae wafers have a wood content in them The Algaefix you posted is the Pond version of the product they are talking about Also Seachem Flourish Excel will also work to help control your algae though its very dangerous if you overdose Depending on where you live in the States log on www.cichlid-forum.com ask about there for someone selling a large pleco in your area Brad

Im also against the using of bloodworms to feed your africans I cant even touch them or a break out with rashes all over my arms and my eyes water I also get a reaction just from the plastic bag they come in The main problem with them is tiny hairs on the body of the bloodworms and they will iritate the insides of your fish edit Brad Edit, Mod., Rogan has retracted his statement.- Alan

What are you GH and KH levels? KH helps keep your PH steady Id more look at this b4 going and changing all your gravel cos Calcium Carb and stuff only work for so long Once they have a slime coating on them their usefulness decreases Brad

Hey guys I have been researching abit more on Frontosa and came across this article of different types of Frontosa It talks about different varients and how the Kigoma must have a tear drop on the face and how the Zaire is so blue its nearly purple(without a doubt the best Frontosa I have ever seen was a Zaire) its a worthwhile read http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cyphomaniacs.php Brad By the way keep the pics coming guys Ill try and get some pics of my Burundi in my display tank

That first pic is of some very nice Frontosa Cameron They look really good Brad

Hi Fishman Nah those guys are Acei http://www.wetpetz.com/acei.htm Brad

Here is another guy I know here in Australia and he is virtually only into Frontosa http://www.piczo.com/Sealord1auFrontosa?g=12788693&cr=3 He has some of the nicest Frontosa I have ever seen Notice the Kigoma's he has with a gold Dorsal fin and tear drop on the face Brad

Hey gus Ill post some Photos of some of the Ikola I have here Brad

The first catty is definalty an Albino Cory and the seciond one is a Sailfin Gibbicep http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=148 Very nice catfish IMO Though they do get large What size he now? They arent the fastest of growers and as long as only gets to about 25cm in your tank he will be fine till then After he gets to this size i would def relocate him Brad

In my planted tanks I dont actually gravelvac any of it as the roots of your plants will be disturbed I do though run a small hopse just over the top of the gravel to suck up any of the crap that is sitting on top of the gravel Brad

Yeah the difference in temp will affect the bacteria as well I cant see why people dont have a bucket and just siphon some water out of the tank while they are doin water changes and use that water to clean the filter media So simple and no chance of accidently killing that bectaria Brad

Its not just the Chlorine I would be worried about Its also a complete water change Brad

If your going to leave an filter till it virtually clogs up then it isnt really working very well at that time To keep it working at its peak keeping it flowing properly is a must Also never ever use tap water to clean biological media as your killing the bacteria A good gravel vac is amust for keeping the tank clean as well What sizetank do you have? And what filter are you running

I myself would work on 175L as you will lose some from gravel and rocks as well as you wont fill it right to the top Your 138 litres was full right to the top without the bow which was a correct calculation I worked it out from roughly guessing the bowfront bows evenly out to the max width so main tank 123x45x25 =138L and the bow 123x45x19 = 105L though this should be about half this as it bows That equals 190L which losing approx 10% for gravel leaves just over 170L Brad

Thanx Juzzy The book is a great read especially when your tryin to work out with a customer whats exactly wrong with their fish Let me know if its avail. in Nz cos ill send over some copies for people if its not Brad

Do you realise if your going from a colder enviroment to a warmer one that difference will seem alot more to your body On a cold day your tanks will seem alot warmer then usual and the opposite on warm days Also the stick on thermometers are affected by glass temp not only water I would reccomened a Glass thermometer for every tank they are only cheap virtually all are reliable

Yeah the lights out of the Older style 620 will fit them Im not sure what style they still sell you in NZ but the change over here a few years ago now As said Kongs have a few different ones avail and any LFS should be able to order them in for you

Ryan when those little fish start swimming arund the full length of the tank like they would without the larger fish in there ill believe you that they are perfectly fine You wanna try something and see how nice everything is in your tank Take out all the rockwork and leave no ornaments and just the fish See how long the little yellows survives Just because they look fine to you doesnt mean they are enjoying their time in there getting chased when they pop to far away from the rocks Id suggest you do some research of some of these fish and see what they are really like Ill help you out with a link to one of the best cichlid forums i have come across http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1160 Have a quick look at what they say about the nature of the Venustus and what they like to hunt in the wild Brad