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That is just AWESOME !!!! What a magnificent colour!!

Cheers Andrew ... see you then. The angels are one week old and doing great. The parents are two of the most beautiful koi marbles I have seen in ages. Hoping a fair amount of the babies will be koi marked as well. If not I dont really care as all angels are beautiful. Also have approx 50 Kribensis free swimming today. They are in the 4 foot community tank and being looked after really well by mum and dad. All be it the others in the tank arent allowed within 2 inches of the bottom!! :lol: In the process of setting a tank up for them so we can slowly catch them and put them into their own tank to grow up. Catching anything in that tank is really hard as it is so heavily planted!! It will take a little while me thinks

Hi Andrew Thanks for the offer. I will gladly take up your offer. I am sure the bristlenose would rather be back in the heavily planted tank. It must feel very 'naked and vunerable' in with the fry. (Not that the fry would do anything ). Let me know when it is ok to call and collect some.

Thanks Bill You have, as always, provided helpful information. I have put a small bristlenose in with the angels. Mine is also a bare tank except for some floating plants and air stone going softly. Dont think the b/nose is very happy but he/she is getting a small piece of cucumber as well to supplement the left overs on the bottom. Is this the best species to put in a tank with the fry? I wanted something to help stop the micro worms making the tank messy etc. I know they are not rubbish collectors but I am sure it will clean up any waste food.

I am currently trying to raise about 50 angel babies. They are doing ok so far on micro worms and brine shrimp. My problem is how much brine shrimp should they get? I am hatching my brine shrimp in 2 litre milk bottles, using 1/4 teaspoon of eggs per bottle. I have been getting a good hatch rate but not sure how long they last for. I cant feed them all at once so what happens to the rest. Do I just keep putting them back with the airstone and keep using them for a day or two or should they all be used in a day??? The old "as much they eat in 5 minutes" is very difficult to monitor with tiny angels and even tinier food!! :lol: I havent had any large losses (few real tiny ones passed on) but I want to make sure I raise as many of these angels as possible as the parents are beautiful. Thought I would put some in my community tank. All fish raced up to the tank waiting for dinner only to find they couldnt see dinner!!! Was quite funny. If a fish could ever look confused it was then. They knew something was there but where!!! The angels finally decided it wasnt worth using all that energy to eat such small stuff so just waited at the front of the tank for the 'real' food. Everyone else charged around the tank like mad idiots, mouths going like mad. Who says fish are entertaining ah???

Good idea. I think I will go and price a compressor. Want need to be a big one either. Much easier that way. Just need to run multi taps etc of them then. I was going to run two pumps per tank so it has a good power into the U/G's. Four uplifts per tank was what I thought I needed. However I will explore the compressor idea. Thanks people.

That is what I thought to so I may just stick to one filter one tank. Seems to be much easier as well. Thanks for the common sense thoughts.

Great idea for one tank but how can I do this with three?????? Arghhhh .... three powerheads but then would have to also triple size of filter box!!! Too much Heaven help my poor brain .... this is going to be so simple I will kick myself. :lol:

I use them in all my tanks and havent had any problems. And unless the thermostats and my temperature gauges are wrong, they keep to the required temperature ok. I dont pay any more than $35.00 for mine, new 300w, but from a nameless source at this stage. I will have to ask him if he fanicies selling to a greater public obviously, as heaters are so dear.

Thanks Pegasus I think this probably someone elses avatar but I liked it and it was available. I tried to get one off my computer and onto here but it didnt work and I doent have a lot of computer knowledge (to go with the little fish knowledge-jezzzz-what do I know???? :-? ). I will go look on that sire now and see what I can find. That damm quiet at work today I have nothing better to do than go surfing. :lol:

I am in the process of purchasing a three tank stand which hold three four foot tanks. These tanks have divisions in them if I wish to split fish groups etc. It also comes with all the U/G plates, uplifts etc. My problem is ... I dont really want to have up to six air pumps going to power the U/G's. I would really like to have the water being recycled through a trickle filter or equivilant but I have no idea how to build one. I know about the trickle filter part (easy enough) but how I do I get the water out of each tank and back into each tank in equal amounts? What sort of pump is required to pull the water out of each tank and in through the filter and back out again? I have seen one in action (thankyou Warren for the inspiration! :lol:) but have no idea how he gets the water out of the tanks and into the trickle filter, heated and taken back to the tanks (all keeping at the same water level). It all seemed so simple when we saw it but trying to think of one on a small scale is just to complicated for my small brain. One tank seems so easy!!!! :lol: :lol: Can I make use of the Fluval 204 I have now to somehow power it all or do I need a power head type arrangment and pipe it three ways somehow? If it requires a rocket scientist then I am afraid I will revert back to the idea of air pumps!! My other half keeps showing me the power bill and wondering how much higher it is going to go!! Who cares. :lol: He has fish too!! Thanks to all who will rack their brains and help this simple fishkeeper out of the haze that has fallen over her brain!!!

It doesnt look like it is still infected. Looks like an old scar. Bit like when we have surgery and it is half way healed. Bit fleshy but healed over. (Excuse the definition but quite heard to describe). I would say that it is ok then. Phew!!!! I dont mind having a disfigured discus It is just beautiful.

Thanks for the info. I understand that this fish has been like this for years so not sure it will get better (cured) but I will try not to let it get worse. I have read the sites you recommended and will try to get some medication but I may wait to see if it gets worse before treating it.

I bought another discus today. (Sucker for punishment!!) It was only $50 and about 6 inches. It is dwarfing my two little ones but getting along fine. It it about three years old and has a thing called a hole in the head but the guy says it has had it since he bought it and it has survived. I have heard this fatal. Is it true? Can it be treated or is it genetic? It is a lovely fish and the guy said if it died in the next month he would give me my money back so he is sure it will survive. Dont care really. At least it has a good home until that day comes. I am going to have a look at that discus website and see if I can find anything about this hole in the head thing.

I am so amazed it it alive and swimming around like nothing happened!! Just wanted to stress me out a little. Great!! Just what I need - a discus with a sense of humour :lol: :lol: :lol: I am thinking of taking the internal filter out and just leaving the three U/G filters going. I have noticed that, even though the filter is on the weakest flow, it still is quite strong and the discus dont go anywhere near the flow. This means they dont swim around as much as they could without it. I dont think it would hurt to take it out as I have seen bigger tanks operating with only two U/G's. I will also do water changes every three days to help keep everything else down. Worth a go I think for a week and see if anything builds up in the tank. If it does then I will put it back. I am putting it in another tank just in case I need it back. That way it is still alive with goodies!

Well. The fish has survived and is looking 200% better. My other half reckons it had a 'belly ache'. After looking at the discus sites on the net it said I shouldnt feed my discus dry food as it swells in their belly and causes 'belly ache'. They will now only get bloodworm and daphnia. Only problem being that the bloodworm is too big for the little neons to eat!! I will do another test of the water etc tomorrow and probably another water change too just to be sure. Thanks for all your help to all that sent me advice etc. I think I should stick to the fish I know and can look after really well!!! But I do love my discus. Such an elegant fish.

My discus keeps lying on its side. It is one of two in the tank. We have tested for everything!!! No ammonia, no chlorine, no chloramine, no nitrate, ph is 6.8. Everything seems just fine. It started this evening after I had fed them. Just went over on its side. They only got flake as normal. We have just done a 30 - 40% water change(using rain water collected and tested as ok). We tested the tank after the change and there is no difference in anything but the ph is now 6.8 after being approx 7.2) It moves around then seems to go to the bottom and is really pumping his fins and is a bit jerky in his movements. The other discus seems to be fine although it is very shy and hardly seen so a bit hard to judge. The tank has three U/G filters running and an Eheim internal filter. There are numerous neons, glowlights, yellow tetras and rummy nose in the tank also. It also has five bristlenose cats in the tank as well. The only thing we have done differnet is last night we put in a piece of cucumber for the bristlenose to eat. This has been eaten and has been removed after 24 hours max in the tank. Could this cause any problems? I have a feeling by the time anyone reads this and respomds the poor thing will be dead as it has now gone on its side and just about stopped moving!!!

Thank you to everyone that offered advice. Only saved the platy but it is swimming around as if nothing happened.

I have been to the said shop and they have told me that they may have given my mum the wrong advice. Very sorry and all. No offer to pay her back for the fish she had (three of which she had only had three days) etc. Never mind. They did give me some malachite green. Said that should help. Only I am now a bit worried about putting more chemicals in with them. Is this safe to use???

Hi Rob ... thanks for the advice. I tested the tank after the fish had been taken out and the nitrate etc were all fine but the ph was down to 6.8 from 7.2, when I tested it before the ph down went in. I have since taken the fish home and put them in a separate tank. We are now down to three fish left. Made sure this tank was a close to what they had before and two seem to have perked up. Two died over night but two are bouncing around. The third, a little gourami, is lying on its side but still hanging in there. Has been like that for three days now. I have put it in a breeding net/cage so it is not lying on the stones and is up near the air etc. Is this likely to recover? I checked the two that died overnight and it appeared as if they had a slimy coverage. Not sure if that is just the start of decay or 'velvet'. I have treated the tank for the reamining guys, just in case. I think I will either kill them with concern or they will survive. The other thing I noticed from the other fish that died is that most of their fins were very tatty, especially the siamese fighter. Looked like they had been burnt off. Is this a sign of stress or from the ph burning them? I feel so hopeless watching these poor fish die!

Just for something completely different .... My mum has a two foot tank ... hasnt been set up long (1 month) ... when she set it up she used prepared water (already filtered etc) and about half from my tank ... this way I figured the water would be good enough for fish. A week ago she had one sick fish so took it to a shop here and was told nothing the matter with it ... she took it home and it dies 1 hour later. She went back to the shop with the fish and water. The shop told her the ph level was too high and to put a capful of the ph down into a cup of hot water ... disolve it and put it into the tank. This she did and within an hour fish were dying. She only has little fish (tetras, guppies, little platties and swordtails plus two bristlenoses). I told her to get the fish out straight away and into good clean water again. When I went to see them last night they did not look good. She has since lost 5 more little guys and only has a few left. What can I do to save the rest? I think the shops advice killed the fish! They have been poisioned by the ph down. I have never had this happen before so have no idea what to do to try and save the rest. ps - the ph was actually fine as I had tested it the day before - was 7.2. She has nothing in the tank that is any different to my tanks and they are fine - ph tested last night at 7.2. I had actually stolen bits out of my tank for hers!! This 'shop assistant' doesnt appear to have known diddly-squat and neither of us will be going back there.

Ira ... I am disappointed in you ... you said Caryl was "Caryl is really a 6 foot tall goth chick with 20 piercings" She was nothing like that at all!!! Either your imagination is worse than mine or you have been sniffing too many fish tank fumes. :roll: ps .... nice to meet you in Napier

I sure will!!! I am asking you to be the Godmother ... :lol:

I would like to thanks Goldie, Caryl and co that came up from the South to Napier and for bringing me some lovely dwarf gouramis. My wee fella is just over the moon and has already showed her around a few rocks and plants Was very nice to meet you all and I hope you had a safe trip home and all your purchases arrived alive. Look forward to meeting some other time.

We are bringing a couple of tanks suitable for danios etc, along with undergravel filters. Long and not very high and divided down the middle. Good condition.