ryanjury

I don't like hybrids.. But in certain cases they are ok, ie the OB and dragons blood peacock.. I keep both of these, tell people they're hybrids breed them true, also these 2 have been line bred to produce offspring that are the same etc.. They are no threat to pure species because I will never allow them to cross and if there are any breedings in mixed tanks they are fish food! The hybrids I disagree with are people producing a heap of randoms in their tank matching them up to a fish in their tank and selling them as such, then some poor bugger buys them spends ages growing them out caring for them only to find out their hybrids..

MM is Dan he got some in as he mentioned and sold it off however he is out.. I see you tried to ring Malcolm a bit busy at the moment ill send you a pm..

Just keep getting what you already have been If I can afford it I will get in some NLS soon its relatively easy have been waiting for my dad who's in asia to try and get me some because that would be free Malawi_man, glad to hear someone bit the bullet and did it, I was considering it but didn't have the time/energy, also worried about the end price once they make it to petshops unsure how many people will fork out for it, will be interesting to see! It certainly has great reviews overseas..

Yeah when I asked what was considered commercial he said like 50kg lol but he didn't seem to know an exact limit I think its upto the inspector at customs probably wouldn't go too overboard on it

Yeah think it works along on the lines of the surface moving creating more surface area allowing more gases to escape.. In my main african display tank I had no end of trouble even with 2 externals disturbing the surface even to the point they were blowing bubbles eveywhere and I had to stick an air stone and grunty pump in.. Some people recommend having both so that if your external (even if it comes unstuck) or air pump fall over you still have a back up and dont wake up to dead or dying fish gasping at the surface (been there a few times managed to fix it )

That differs from the information I got from calling maf 3 times (3 different people) and emailing them.. They said there is no firm limit on private importation however if you brought in stupid amounts they would deem it commercial and you would be up for more costs associated with that..

I always thought (and it sounds alright to me) to get driftwood from the beach because the salt water it had been drifting in and salt at beach etc will have killed any freshwater nasties in it.. As for the sand you can take whatever sand you want and use it for you tank you just have to be careful it doesn't leach anything into the water thats nasty or will change the water chemistry (unless your aiming for it like coral sand in an african tank). Freshwater gravel/sand could contain nasties so best to boil it before use, I think beach sand maybe too small and might ruin your filters, but ive never used it so unsure.. good luck!

Agreed of 819 jebo but aqua one is cheaper and I haven't had any trouble with my cf700's..

Buy the biggest and best you can afford it will save you money and time in the long run However if your going to lightly stock it you could get away with a large internal, or even sponge filters if its very lightly stocked!

Hey Malcolm as i told you noone imports the NLS you have to get it in yourself which I am still working on.. I feed mine all sorts of stuff pea's nutrifin cichlid sticks, shrimp and lettuce.. I to am unsure on the trout pellets they seem a bit strong and am worried about bloat with my africans its nasty and doesn't take much to set it off..

African cichlids Do you have any idea the logistics and cost of a tank that size?

Thats a big tank! Whats it going to be made of? And more importantly whats going in it!

Nah I don't think they're any good I never recommend them to anyone I sell fish to, have had bloat once and don't ever want to get it again!

OIC fair enough You cant beat a nice planted discus tank.. Are you sure you cant manage a bigger tank if you just want them for display?

If your skimping on buying the fish in the first place how are you going to afford tanks etc to raise all the babies?

PM discusguru on here hes an awesome guy and has the best discus ive ever seen you cant go wrong!

Sweet if I do attempt to make tanks ill only make small ones Or ill just make lids, lids will only be for small tanks because I know how bad it is

I was thinking of making 600 x 300 tanks but having a permanent divider in the middle for support.. It will be in my fishroom and just for initial grow out tanks.. The pieces of glass are 600 x 600 so quite big.. Is the stress more with taller tanks? Would I get away with smaller 30cm tanks? Or am I better to just use it for lids? Even though they're in my fishroom I wouldn't want a tank to break or anything..

got a heap off trademe just wondering if you can make any sized tanks with it or is it too thin? Either way it will be useful for lids just wondering.. Cheers

Oic no I think the fish would be fine with the algae killer, I don't exactly know how it works, I would go for the cause rather than add stuff to knock it out because once you stop adding it you will probably just have another outbreak and have to add more.. I would cut back on the bloodworms I don't feed them at all they have been linked to bloat and other problems so I don't think its worth it especially in africans they have also been linked to phosphates etc in the water mainly due to the juice in them fouling the tank... Others will disagree and it is upto you, but IMO there are plenty of safer (and alot cheaper options) I just use shrimp from the supermarket you can chuck them in whole or blend them with pea's and gelatin and freeze them. Heres some reading on feeding. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/feeding_mbuna.php http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/f ... chlids.php Also an article on algae.. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/algae_control.php And phosphates http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/phosphates.php Good luck!

Will the algae kill the fish? Its their natural diet they love it and do well on it If your tanks in the same place with no plants, I would put it down to the food, check the phosphate levels see whats going on, plants will absorb nutrients in the water stopping them feed the algae, also if your tank was planted chances are you were feeding different food to what you feed your africans these are all things that will cause the algae. What food are you feeding? Are you overfeeding? What filtration are you running?

I get it in my african tanks all the time.. I found the green water was caused by excessive phosphates (get a test kit of borrow a friends) mine came from using cheap spirilina flake, I stopped using it and the water cleared up eventually... It can also be caused by over feeding decaying plant matter etc, you can also get phosphate remover but its quite expensive.. You can get a UV sterilizer to get rid of the green water, I think its algae that grows when you have an excess of nutrients (phosphates) The green algae on the glass is that little green spots? I find the bristlenoses don't eat this type and I think its caused by too much sunlight.. I just scrape the algae off the front glass with an eftpos card weekly and it keeps it under control. Good luck with it I'm sure you will get it under control, also watch your fish some of the fish you have in your sig don't usually work out well in a tank as small as yours (auratus and possible kenyi).. How big are they atm?

Randoms sneak through sometimes as giraffes I believe Be good to see them breeding and getting spread around good score man.

lol wicked How man you got? And how big are they? Where did they come from?

Yeah I think so They used to be quite common not so much anymore, I want some Is that at a shop?