starlyte

Im trying to identify a fish for someone http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/ ... C00934.jpg Any ideas?

Unsure if these images will actually work... I dont remember my photobucket login at the moment... But these are the two living plants i have.. Does anyone know a name for them?

Right, So i will change the timer of the tank! I dont know what all the plants were called. We bought them when we bought the fish tank, the LFS asked what we wanted and we said any of them as we didnt know the differences Thanks for all your advice

Okay, THe knots are untied, and i will look at getting a gate It didnt help that the air bubbles were pretty much under a plant so they were constantly being hammered by the bubbles... But other plants away from the bubbles were still suffering the same The tank is 90 litres (25 galons) Its been running since october last year and at about christmas time it was fully cycled and the nitates have always been about 10 and i have done weekly water changes, Just ive missed a week here and there recently. I usually take about 20-25% of the water out and replace with slighly wamed water with water conditioner added THe lights are on a timer and are on for about 12 hours a day. THe light turns on twice during the day: at 7am and turns off at 11am and then turns on again at 5pm and turns off at 12pm - the location of the tank doesnt really get any light so when the light is off its impossible to see anything in the tank, So the idea was that when we were home the light would be on (before and after work) THe air bubbles are also connected to the light timer so are only on when the lights are. When changing the water i always clean in the gravel lots to get rid of anything laying down there.

Couple of things: 1 - I have an air pump with 2 air stones and two seperate air tubles - the pump has two outputs. when they are on i think there is too much air coming out of the air stones... So i tied a knot in the tubes to restrict air flow. Will this dmage the pump? 2 - My plants were not overly healthy and im constantly having to scoup out leaves that have fallen off - plus i think the cichlids keep eating them, Ive replaced most with fake plants and have thrown away the yucky plants. the LFS have suggested java fern plant as the cichlids dont like them. Are there any other plants that are overly easy to care for??? I have some flax type plants at the moment and another in which i dont actually know what it is thats still reasonably healthy. 3 - One of my dwarf gouramis died last week... He/she was doing okay and then my wife noticed it sitting on the ground not doing much.. By the time i got home from work - about an hour later it was lying on its side, Its gills were still moving... i paniced for a few mins and decided to do a water change and by the time i got my bucked it was dead complatly... I dont really know why it died, We did notice a few days before it was up the top blowing out bubbles and we think it was trying to make a nest or something... apon examination when i took it out of the tank i didnt notice anything out of order... other then it not flapping around full of life.. I only had the two dwarf goramis and the second one has been a bit "lost" appears to have been looking for the parnter for a few days... Even though when they were both together in the tank they had thier own end of the tank and very rarely even cared about each other... Should i replace the gourami? or will my other fish be okay without her (i think it was a her) The other fish i have: 6x glow light tetra 5x neon tetra 1x red tail shark 1x golden algae eater 2x baby cichlids 3x baby bristle nose 1x dwarf gourami I do regular water changes, Usually once a week, But when the gourami died i had not changed the water for 2 weeks, I did tests and the nitrates were a bit higher then usual... memory tells me about 80 Its ususally below 50 and the amonia and nitrites at 0 The water was clean and clear with no signs of real problems..

We kept saying a second net would make this soo much easier Plus i do only have a pretty small net... That didnt help either!

I did actually save most of the water, i emptied it all out into buckets, Scooped out all the gravel and gave it a good wash and put the majoritiy of the saved tank water back in, Topped it up with tap water I really should have emptied the whole tank completely, There was a bit of water left in the tank that i couldnt really get out easily was very dirty from scouping up all the gravel Filled the tank up and it was quite cloudy. an hour of the filter going again cleared it up very well I couldnt imagine lifting the tank full of water... surely the tank would break? Just the gravel by its self is damn heavy!.. imagine how heavy the whole tank is... Approx 100 litres of water + gravel.... There were no casualties, I was most worried about the baby bristlenose fish as ever since i got them (thanks mystic) they have pretty much been hidden... For the past few weeks i have only ever managed to see 2 out of the 3 fish at one time. Right up until a couple of hours before doing the change I imagined the shark to be the hardest to catch.. but he proved me wrong

It was a stressful weekend for the fish.. and us.. When we bought our tank we put it onto a set of drawers without putting any polystyrene under the tank and after a while i noticed the drawers were bowing.. So we bought a cabinet off trademe The only time ive really caught fish is from the plastic bags when putting them into the tank... It was quite the mission to catch all of our fish and put them in a bucket Got most of the tetras.. the very last tetra was a bit sneaky... We have a reasonably big golden algae eater.. That was the hardest fish to catch, The thing was so fast.. Along with the elec yellow cichlids... Anyway.. finaly caught them got the water out and the tank onto the new cabinet WITH poly underneath.. When we put the fish back into the tank.. they had all lost thier colours, Especially the red tailed shark... It was more of a greyish white shark with a see through pink tail.... The tetras also were not really glowing like they usually did. After about an hour or two and a dosing of prime thier colours started to come back though Its quite a big job emptying a tank and filling it back up again! We were just looking a couple of weeks ago at buying a new tank off trademe, It came with the fish and everything... How much of a mission that would be to get it to our house without loosing any fish!!!

Im going to keep an eye on them... After reading up about the CAE im not overly keen on keeping it! Once my true siamese algae eaters turn up i might get rid of the CAE - By then my bristlenoses will be a bit bigger

Awesome. Good to hear they are good filters At the moment the sponge is on the bottom, Carbon in the middle and the bio balls are at the top The thing came with a red bag to put the bio balls in however i have seen them being sold in large bags, Can i just fill the filter up 2/3rds with the bioballs and then just put the sponge on top? Or will i need to keep them bagged up? Which is the part that contains most of the good bacteria? Gonna rid the carbon Gonna clean the sponge Do i ever need to do anything with the bio balls - ie clean/change etc What does the carbon do if you dont change it I think thats all the questions!

okay i was slightly wrong It must have been the LSF that said change the filter media monthly The spec sheet says: change carbon monthly foam every 2 months biomax every 3 months Is that what i should be following

Filter: Aquaclear 50 power filter Specs say: Max flow: 757lph Min: 250lph tank: 3ft (900x 300x 300).. or 900x 400x 300 - cant remember fish: 6x glowlight tetra 5x neon tetra 2x dwarf gourami 2x baby electric yellow cichlid (smaller then tetras atm) 1x red tail shark 3x baby bristlenose The tank is planted. Not heavily - 6 plants along the back Should take photo...

Ive read lots of very contradicting information about this subject.. I have a hangover the side filter, It came with my tank when i bought it.. Unfortnatly i dont remember the model - the tank is a waterhome 25 from animates, the filter is something like an aquaplus something Anyway.. the filter came with media 1x foam sponge thing 1x bag of carbon 1x bunch of weird round thingies .. i dont remember the name.. biostones or something? Ive been told: 1 - The instructions on the filter said to change it all monthly.. 2 - Ive been told change only one of the three media types per month 3 - also been told dont change anything until the flow is restricted. I havnt actually done anything to the filter since i got it (beginning of november 05) Oh actually i have pulled the plastic tube that sticks into the water off to clean them as they have been blocked up almost completly a couple of times Recently ive also read about people saying not to use the carbon bags.. So what should i do Currently the flow is fine, What media should i change first, when should i change it. Should i remove the carbon completly.. if so what should i replace it with The LSF sell the three types of media for $8 each at the right size to fit into the filter.. is that expensive Another question.. is this particular filter or kind of filter not very good... Should i have a better one like a canister.... i am a bit interested in the sump method of filtering ie being able to put the heater and everything down in there rather then in the main tank - but thats for another day i think! Im just a bit concerned over my filter - especially since its a "one that came with the tank type" - that sort of thing are never the best I guess it works okay, The tank is generally clean and clear, Water chemistry is okay, But the thing is the fish population is starting to increase now that its fully cycled and things are looking better Sorry for rambling alot in this post, Im not quite so good at constructing easy to understand ... words!!!!!!!! Thanks in advance for your replies

Thats the same as what happened to me just a couple of days ago I got a new red tailed shark (thanks mystic) and my golden algae eater was not happy and was fighting him, Then when the shark finally found a hiding place the algae eater continued to chase any other fish that came near They seem okay now, The shark can be with the algae eater and they appear to just play rather then fight

That looks to me like a CAE (chinese algae eater) - Just not the golden version

I have 1 true SAE on order from animates From what i have read they should be paired.. But im not sure, No website specifically said it but i get that impression Does anyone know if they should be paired up or can i just stick with one of them

Ive been searching for a siamese algae eater.. and they do look very similar to the flying fox, and also the "false siamese algae eater" Here are a couple of links which show differences: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/saes.htm This one has detailed descriptions/differences plus a table to show the exact differences between the fish: http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/cyprinid.html Brief differences from: http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/ot ... mensis.htm How to select the true SAE: Siamese Algae Eater or SAE: Crossocheilus siamensis The true SAE has a jagged black horizontal stripe that goes all the way to the tip of the tail. All of the SAE's fins are clear. The black and white and their contrast are more intense than with the other algae eaters below. False Siamese Algae Eater or false SAE: - Garra taeniata i think or Paracrossochilus The false SAE if usually found in shipments of true SAE (or the other way around). Unlike the SAE, the black stripe ends at the beginning of the tail. Often, if one goes to buy SAE's in a US aquarium store, they may in fact be all or mostly false SAE's. False SAE's may have some red around the mouth and a yellow tint to the fins. My false SAE had some nice gold and red on the dorsal fin. Mine was sold as a flying fox. Flying Fox: Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus Just like the true SAE, the flying fox has a black horizontal stripe that goes all the way to the tip of the tail. Unlike the SAE, the edges of the stripe are smooth and not zagged. The flying fox may have some rainbow-like coloring on the fins. It is more pretty than the other fish mentioned on this page. The black horizontal stripe extends to the end of the tail like the SAE but it is much stronger and broader. Chinese Algae Eater or CAE: The Chinese algae eater is Gyrinocheilus aymonieri. Unlike the SAE, false SAE, and flying fox, the CAE does not have a distinct black horizontal line. It is more mottled. The fish is more brown than black and white. The tail fin lacks any striping. The CAE also does not have any barbels unlike the other three fish. If you go to the average pet store that carries fish and ask for a fish that eats algae, probably half the time, you would have a Chinese algae eater foisted upon you. While these fish are a delight like the above fish, they have only a low to moderate desire to eat any algae. If fish food is available, it will compromise most of their food intake. Also, as Chinese algae eaters grow older, the may become nasty to other algae eaters or even other fish in the tank. Some may try to latch onto fat-bodied fish. Sometimes, though some individuals get along well with their tankmates. There is a very common albino (or gold) CAE which may be sold even more often then the regular gray CAE. The CAE does not zip around as much as the SAE, false SAE, and flying fox. It tends to do more sucking. CAE's normally stay under 6 inches but have the ability to grow to almost twice that length.

I have a 3 foot tank with: 6x glowlight tetras 5x neon tetras 2x dwarf gourami 1x yellow algae eater Looking at getting baby bristlenose catfish however im unsure how many i need or how many is too many.. Im thinking 2 or maybe 3 of them note i have on order a siamese algae eater from animates but i dont know how long that will take to get a real one in... Im wanting it purely for algae eating as my yellow algae eater doesnt seem to eat much.... doesnt take long for the glass to have a layer of algae and currently the plants have quite a bit on them too The light is on from 4:30pm through to 4:30am and the tank is not in any direct sunlight On a different subject... Went to a place in lower hutt (wellington) called hutt pet place i think (by mitre 10 ). THe place is quite big and chocka block, However thier fish section was closed off for some reason Does anyone know why? and has anyone had much experience buying from them?

Before i start... i have done a few searches and didnt have much luck Does anyone have any suggestions for a decent book on freshwater fishies... Kinda looking for something that has species guides and illnesses Ive found a few in the shops but not very detailed ones..

the tank is a 3ft Its got: 6x glowlight tetras 2x dwarf gourami 1x yellow algae eater who is currently continually swimming in loops I dont know if i can leave the fish for that long without feeding them at all...

actually i lie.. there are lots of pictures of Planaria however they are all very zoomed in pictures so i cant tell if they are what im seeing! EDIT - since a few weeks ago that we noticed these tiny thingies we have reduced the amount we feed too

Finally my new tank has cycled Tested today: AM - 0 NI - 0 NA - 10 Im not getting new fish until after christmas, However i am going away for two weeks from this thursday Is there anything special i should be doing to the tank before i go to minimise death and destruction? I have a 14 day feeding shell and i will have friends coming over to feed the cat who can check on the fishies In the last couple of weeks ive noticed strange little things in the tank, They are very tiny... about 1mm long and are very thin, They are white and they seem to stick to the glass of the tank, I think they move, not 100% sure as the water also moves in the tank I did some google searching and came up with Planaria, The google results didnt give me a picture so im not completly sure, I do weekly water changes (25% or so) They almost disappeared but then by the next week there were tonnes of them again This week being the last week im around before i go away ive done a big water change, and im going to do small amounts each day.. If anyone can offer any other advice that would be cool... I cant seem to get a photo of them as they are a bit tiny for my camera skills to capture

yea thats true, We are going to ask some of our friends to pop in for us and check on the fish, but an autofeeder would be cool Ive just found the aquarium guide that came with the tank, it talks about all the different aspects of aquarium keeping and talks about multiple branded equipment, But in the feeding section they only talk about the nutramatic and nutramatic 2x feeders which at a guess must be the ones that will fit in our tank because i cant buy fish at the moment until my tank is properly cycled - i have found myself wanting to buy accessories just for the hell of it. unfortnatly my lovely bean counter wont let me! im going to wait until after christmas before i put in anymore fish, dont really want to buy new fish a week before we go away only to find they didnt like the environment when we get back!

Hello guys I have a waterhome 25 tank and the hood of the tank has got a pull out bit in which the instructions say its for an automatic feeder Does anyone know much about these tanks? im considering getting one as we are going away on holiday for a few weeks over christmas Does it need to be a specific one to fit, or are all the automatic feeders pretty standard sized?

Hello i do have fish, I bought the tank and ran it with no fish for 10 days or so then got some fish 6x glowlight tetras 2x gourami 1x algae eater The fish are doing fine, i have not noticed them doing any different since they got there, the tetras always stay together, the algae eater is overly active and speedy, the gouramis dont appear to like each other, right from the start they have seperated themselves and stay on thier end of the tank... they sometimes join up in the middle, but ive never seen them on opposite sides though! Ive used Aqua plus when i first put the water in the tank, Then again when i did a water change (25%), The tank came with a bottle of 'cycle' which is the same as 'prime' i think The pet store said to use cycle to help move along the cycle and apparently it helps detoxify the nitites and amonia I have not use any other chemicals... as for the results of the nitrite, My test for nitrite goes from 0 to 5, but it jumps up to 5 fast, ie 0, 0.25. 0.50, 1, 2, 5 The manual that came with the test kit (freshwater master test kit) says that during the cycle the amonia can spike up to 4 then go down and the nitrites can spike up to 5 and then go down... It was a bit of a tough decision between 2 and 5 as it almost looked like it was 2.. so it could be between 2 and 5... Im going to do a water change tomorrow, its been a week since ive done the last one