sharn

oh lordy PJ- someone that shares my pain. its the saddest craze to ever hit the earth (it being emoism). i wonder if any natural fish that we keep in tanks would 'glow' under black lights? surely at least one would have the little thingamabobs in their skin that make them glow? but i suppose then that makes them easy targets out in the wild so maybe not *thinking aloud*

could be the stress from the meds?

albinos do have red eyes, its just my stupid camera which made him look funny :lol: i beleive he is a white albino (not axanthic which im told are genetically weaker and yellow with age) as he has iridophores on his gills. goldens have redy gold eyes, more goldish though but still classed as albino- they lack melanophores hence the gold appearence. axies are pretty poor sighted anyway but mine seem to see just as well as my normal ones. they all react the same to movement also. i think they would be a bit more sensitive to lights turning on quickly though as any albino would

do they Frenchy? i dont want them getting into my canister and stuffing my impellor. i dont care if they live in there but i like filters that work personally :lol:

you most certanly are paul :lol: got a bed here if you like but i must say a 17 year old metal loving, fish freak probably isnt that entertaining :lol:

in my planted (sand for substrate) it will go off in about two weeks, and siphoning sand like you would gravel is quite hard :lol: thats why im getting some snails (friend has a tank with some in it). gravel is easier to maintain in that aspect IMO cause you can siphon it more vigerously (sp).

they done it to axies too :evil: personally i think people that want glow in the dark fish need a good slapping. goes to show once again how silly humans can be- we just dont seem to be happy with naturalness (if thats a word)

africans seem to need larger tanks but can be more heavily stocked in that larger tank for some reason, some do get quite large too. dwarf cichlids need less room but in a smaller tank two males (of apisto species) normally wont get along too well if theres not lots of hiding spots- also female fish will make them fight and even though theyre small they are fiesty! americans show dominance and aggression differently to africans also

Mystery snails are those ones that look like small brown apple snails. mine didnt do much other than cruise around the tank looking for a free meal of algae wafer :lol: Malaysians look like little brown 'trumpets'

if your gonna go nuts and get every little last inch of gravel cleaned then i would, just chuck em into a bucket with an airstone while you do it. im sure it would leave some trace of something in the water as it goes to the surface and in big amounts it may upset the fish? once youve cleaned it you can top it up again with fresh water. warren- it probably is that, when i broke down my old planted (sand so harder to siphon than gravel) the lowest level was anerobic and made my room smell like farts (which i got blamed for doing!) :lol:

i would invest in some loaches if you dont want to be waiting until dark to pick out snails (when they come out). i only know of clown loaches (which get big but take many years and are quite sensitive) but i know theres more that i just cant remember the names of :lol: if you know someone that has them in their tank you can grab a handful of gravel out and pick the snails out, or there are auctions for them on TM from time to time. im not sure if they eat baby fish/eggs

caryl isnt your tank heavily planted with a smallish fish load?

black substrate below the surface and bubbles means it has gone anerobic or 'off', when looking at your substrate from the front of the tank you will be able to see it. that bacteria converts nitrates back to nitrites (or so im told) and the gas is methane? (i think, im not too good with my gasses but i know its not a good one). it can harm you fish if their gills come into contact with it and its just generally bad for the tank. it normally takes a few weeks for the substrate to go anerobic from the time it goes in. there are a few ways to combat it, i personaly prefer the snail way (cause im lazy lol)- the malaysian trumpet snails work a treat as they burrow down into the substrate but they can become a problem (breed alot) and only come out at night time. if you havent planted your tank heavily give the substrate a real good dig with the siphon. having less substrate can help ease the problem too. silver blade- is your tank just newly setup (like a few days to a week ago)? if so it may just be air pockets trapped and could be nothing to worry about.

perhaps you can get some lovely auckland fishkeepers to help you out for the big move? doing it all yourself or with one other person would be an absolute nightmare and would take days!

most of the rams around these days are weak little suckers due to inbreeding etc over on the farms they are mass produced on also most seem to have at least one parasite/disease from my experience i really love those little dudes but after losing 6- 4 to unexplainable illnesses- i have given up. thankfully a few people have got some seemingly healthy stock they are breeding so i would try to get some of them (if possible get males and females that arent brothers and sisters- see above for reason why lol) and give them a go- golds are high in demand (those are the 4 i lost) but they are weaker than the blues it seems. if you do decide to go with rams i would reccomend against getting balloons if your wanting something a bit more hardy but still small look into the apistogramma species. the cockatoos are normally quite easy to find but are really stunning. they are a bit more agro than your rams though its best to breed them in harems (one male to 2-3 females).

UGH! they put sauce on yours! ours is just hot chips with grated cheese mixed with tartare sauce on top- thai kiwi kai in greerton makes the best i have ever tasted *drools*

rain water is quite acidic and has no kh which is why your ph would be so low. if you have no buffering (this is where the shell grit comes in) you may experience large ph fluctuations or crashes. get the LFS to check your kh if you can (no point buying a test kit if you dont need one) and if its over 3 degrees than your fine, if not a little bit of shell grit will help stability

that may be your problem. do you have a nitrate test kit? normally your average tank will get once weekly water changes (some planted tanks etc dont though). did you give the rocks a siphon or did you take them out and clean them with tap water (might sound silly but some people will remove their rocks each week to clean them) i hope your fish friend is able to help you diagnose your problem and you can sort it out quickly and easily

lol, only just ronnie :lol: ill send some of the fishy love up your way for your leopards- my two seem to have more than enough :lol:

i used to work in a bakery that sold hot chips, i got asked a few times to squirt it on like tomato sauce. not sure if its for fish though

sorry to hear that i would do at least 3 40% w/c's and add some carbon (temporarily to help remove meds). mixing meds can be stressful or deadly to fish so i would try and get as much out as you can, dont be afraid to do larger 50-70% w/c's if you are able to but make sure to use dechlorinated water that is roughly the same temp

heres a pic of my female laying, managed to catch them in the act and for once they continued about their business whilst i had my nose up against the glass trying to look at their bits :lol: i thought she was a he as id never seen them lay, only go thru the rituals and then id come back and find eggs. too bad its water change day tomorrow! p.s. Luke- your alpha is looking stunning as usual, good to see he finally got his act together :lol:

agreed about substrate. how thick is it and what is it (gravel, sand etc)? if you disturb it is it black underneath and let out bubbles? i have read of certain bacterias living in the substrate which only effect the feeders that spend most of their time down there but i cant remember specifics sorry. is it possible your substrate is sharp and when theyre sifting thru it (if its small enough of course) it could be irritating their gills? are they flashing etc on any objects? if so that would most likely be gill flukes but it is wierd its only effecting the bottom feeders :-? id give the substrate a good vacumn and see if that helps

and minus the pikes :lol: dont have them over here but im sort of happy about that considering the size some of them get to fish and chips is seen as our national food icon isnt it? not sure if you guys have Pizza Hut over there but im loving their cream cheese and onion stuffed crust pizzas lately *drools*

just the normal brown, orange and white roundish gravel? if so you dont have to change it, its perfectly fine to use and as far as i know doesnt have any water altering properties