sharn

you meaning metro alanmin? if so what is it called when you buy it from the petshop? i havent seen it for sale here.

with all this talk of 'big tanks', what constitutes a 'big' tank? ie at what size do you need to step back and have a think about possible risks of water/weight/placement?

theres a big debate about the whole 'bloodworms are bad/good'. some wont touch them (even if they are frozen) while others swear by them. i dont think bloodworms caused the Heximita problems personally but i am no scientist. you may be able to get metro from the vets without taking the fish in. give them a ring and ask if they will prescribe it if you take along a piece of the fishes poop (bag with a big of water) and some info on hexamita and anything else they may want (photos of fish, tank etc). i dont think they are legally allowed to dose without seeing the animal though even though some friendly ones do. the LFS will not stock anything for hexamita sadly. i know a few people on here can get it, i have no idea where from though, perhaps one of them is willing to send some up for you. perhaps give your doctor a bell? i know it comes under another name other than metro and flagyl, but i cant remember off the top of my head (trichlorzile or something?)

wow, just realised you are from te puke! yay! another O nut that lives close :bounce: you are welcome to come to our next club meeting, we are doing a trip over to wonderworld on the 17th (next sat). you can pm me, sharronpaul, or evil if you are interested also if you ever need any help with things (heaters, filters, spare tanks, muscles to help move tanks etc) feel free to give me a bell. its good having someone fishy thats local to help out if things go belly up (called evil round last week to help me with my leaky tank :lol: )

white stringy poop (no segments in it right?) is probably an indication of Heximita. metrondiazole is commonly used for treating that, just remove the effected fish to a BB tank (so you can check poops) while treating. Heximita is a flagellite found in all fishes guts in manageble numbers and only becomes a problem when the fishs immune system is down and it can take hold. i beleive the white poop is intestinal lining. fish generally stop eating after a period of time and if left untreated will starve to death so treatment is reccomended. i have seen garlic (freshly crushed) being used to treat fish that are still eating but it takes alot longer and i have read of mixed results. i would go with metro if you can get it (also known as Flagyl when used in humans)

i wouldnt wash it if it is ment to go under the gravel- youd be washing all the good stuff out if its the same as your regular aquatic mix

i dont keep africans but my rams got sunken bellies like that when they had camallanus- you checked for butt worms?

nice O's :bounce: just watch out for aggression, O's are known to deal the 'third wheel syndrome' card, two may pair up and nail the other

nope, they stay in there but the aggression in my tank isnt ongoing- its just every now and again when theyre spawned or having a moody round dinner time :lol: if hes in that tank, beaten up and is still getting harrassed or fighting then i would probably move him out- hes not gonna heal as well when hes stressed out even if the water is nice and clean. how many discus do you have in the tank? is the aggression spread out onto other fish or is it just the turq and the blue fighting with each other and ignoring everyone else?

id do nothing if the wound/scratches isnt looking angry, extra water changes to keep the water super clean while hes healing will do the trick IME. my discus have had a few good scratches from fighting and flying into the top of the tank and they healed up no sweat

if you have heaps and heaps of cash and handle stress and hassles REALLY well then it would be worth looking into :lol:

bloodred is a fancy name for a red lutino (red albino, albino, white tiger, pumpkin and so on are other fancy names for them too). your one looks like he will be a stunner as he grows up, i love the contrast of the super bright orange/red with the crisp whites

mixed reports on that i think, i think its bacterial but im not sure if anyone knows specificially what causes it to flare up (ie a scratch isnt going to cause it). dropsy can come out of nowhere in a super healthy tank that is really well looked after so i would say its not genetic and its not your fault either

you are right jn sometimes there isnt enough water flow around the heater to stop the vertical placed ones switching off due the the hotter water rising which can result in a chilly tank- depends on where you have your outlets from your filter placed whether a vertical one may cause problems for you

normally two discus wont get on very well unless they are a bonded pair (then they only have little lovers tiffs :lol: ). when i had three one bullied the other two so much they nearly stopped eating, then i got another two (total of five) and the constant fighting and harassing was almost gone. i have six at present and while there is a definate ranking and a good chase/ram into tank wall every now and again when a lower fish 'steps out of line' they get on relatively well. they are also alot more confident. i personally would not suggest buying discus unless you get at least 5. if you can afford a bonded pair then two would probably be ok. its not nice to watch your fish get attacked/attack other fish every time they come out into view. www.simplydiscus.com is a good site if you want to have a read about them. a adult silver arowana will need a 8x2x2 tank at least, preferably wider if possible. with a tank that size you could definatly put a good group of discus in it (aros temperment permitting) and your angels. hopefully someone who keeps aros will be able to help you more with regards to their temperments, perhaps PM evil_elmo and see if s/he can offer some insight into mixing discus with aros?

i thought they kept those fish in bags because their shops were so small they didnt have room for tanks? where are the tanks kept? thats where my assumption of them perhaps not going back into tanks at night, shows one should not assume aye :lol:

how big is the tank that they would all be in? if you are confident your angels are healthy and your discus are confident enough to compete for dinner there is no reason not to mix them if you want to

good point

ive seen aros and discus done, 75% of the times i have read of havent worked out so well (especially with an adult aro, they got some big mouths!) but i beleive elmo on here has his together sucessfully. a very large tank is required though, id do it with caution and a backup plan only angels and discus- big debate. angels can harbour and hide larger disease loads than a discus can and thats where the main risk comes from. its a big myth with that whole 'angels have a special angel disease that discus are real anti'. some discus are more shy than others but they shouldnt be too disadvantaged feeding speed wise if they are happy and confident. if you do mix them spread the food around though to make sure everyone gets a share and doesnt have to get in everyone elses face to get a bite.

uck, i seen pics of that fishman, its HORRIBLE! they reckon they put them into holding tanks overnight, yeah right :roll: i dont think i would buy a fish thats kept in a bag all day long (and possibly overnight) until its sold, imagine how stressed the poor thing would be! i saw a few pictures of them selling massive sharks etc too, i wonder if the people that buy them can actually house them properly? im sure there would be some insanely massive tanks owned by people over there though....

awww, look at that pacus cute little toothy pegs! that cats gorgeous, whats he like temperment wise? whats the next upgrade gonna be to after the 700L? im jealous, cant wait till i get a concrete floor (or full run of the garage) :lol:

cute little lutino ya got there! my bet is if its popped up just overnight its probably a blockage, most people feed oscars crappy diets cause 'theyre aggressive and eat fish so thats what we'll feed them'. chuck in some epsom salts at 1tbsp per 20L if you dont have plecs/sensitive fish in the tank (1tbsp per 40L if you do)and try feed him some peas. id hold off feeding him at present until the lump subsides, if its a blockage you dont wana make it worse if its not constipation its possible something has ruptured inside causing that bump. sounds like that tumour on the O at the LFS would be a callous from digging?

most of my heaters sit in the lower half of the tank because of the large w/c's i do or they get switched off before the w/c starts. im not sure how painful a heater zap would be and i dont wana find out :lol: i often change around 50% in most of my tanks weekly (discus get 50% every 2nd day), i dont NEED to because tanks arent over stocked, i just like doing bigger ones and my fish like it too :lol: its not going to hurt anything if you prepare the new water properly (dechlorinator if you need it and temp matching if you want to).

just another example of humans playing 'god' with lining their pockets in mind...

ya gonna help me fix it if things go belly up? :lol: you can deal with the angry mother too :lol: heres a pic of the stand, you can see the outside rectangle and it has a beam running thru the middle that touches the floor also so the tank has two unsupported squares either side. mums said i can set it up already after reading this but she said she would appreciate me taking any extra precautions if i need to 'just incase'