Zev

I like this one too.... image from:http://www.timstropicals.com/Saltwater/fish/blennie/index.asp Synchiropus picturatus

Lol, Pineapple fish! nz_Mitch Names for your rare and expensive fish would be good, Reef...

Flourescents give an even light across the length of the tube, it is quite a 'bland' effect (can you tell I hate flourescent light fittings in kitchens?!) Metal Halides, give a more directional light, so if you have no intricate or large diffuser - such as a Lumenarc diffusers, which are 400mm square - behind the lamp, the brightest area will be directly under where the lamp burns, and the brightness will taper out towards the edges. Metal Halides also give a nice 'movement' or 'play of light' on the plants and substrate of the tank if you agitate the surface of the water.

I think you will struggle to get good light at 700mm, even with MH the light penetration for good plant growth on the bottom may not reach down that far. 500 - 600mm seems to be the prefered depth. Even marine tanks with their 250w and even 400w Metal Halides are usually around 600mm in depth. As *Luke said, the wattage of the light determines how much light you will get, the Kelvin Temperature determines the colour of the light.

Sixline Wrasse, Pseudocheilinus hexataenia Won't keep still enough to get a decent photograph!

Hey Bill I can drop the Guppies off tomorrow morning if you like, what time will you be at the Trust?

Perhaps you say rude things about them behind their backs to other fish?

Hey... I have lights just like those, except mine are standing on empty Fluval media boxes!!

Hi, and welcome. Possibly because of the additives the council put in the water to make it fit for human consumption, chlorine is the main un-fish friendly additive. The cheapest way to overcome this is to get a container - bucket is good - of at least the capacity of your usual water change, fill it up and aerate it with an airpump and airstone for a day before you do the water change. This should dissapate the chlorine for you, and is much cheaper than using a chemical declorinator.

Blocking the direct sunlight would be good. I found that the last couple of tanks I setup got that ginger/brown alage/diatoms (whatever) too. After a few weeks the ramshorns cleaned it up rather well. We do have one 21l tank in my daughters room, and she hates snails with a vengence- so there are none in her tank, and the ginger stuff is still there after six weeks! I have sent your plants - there should be a few snails for you hiding amongst the leaves! If you don't want the snails, remember to dip them in potassium permanginate before you put them in.

I use Rolled Oats and a wee pinch of granulated yeast - I think it's Elfin? Same brand as the flour. Just add blood temp water until it is just covered and leave it for a hour, then check to see if I need to add more water if it looks too dry. Then put the worms in. I don't put sugar in, but if you do, watch how much sugar you put in, I put a tad too much in once and ended up with brewed microworms, the mix bubbled away nicely and man did it pong! I use those disposable Gladware containers, some have wee holes punched in the lids, others a cutout about the size of a twenty cent piece and a wad of filter wool stuffed in it to keep the stray fruitflys out. These sit on top of the glass of one of my tanks that has a double flourescent fitting straight on the glass on the top, so during the day it is fairly warm. How deep do you other guys put your oats/spud mix? I only put about 10mm worth in when it is wet.

This month we will be having a talk by Rob Yarrall about some of the reptiles that reside in the National Aquarium of New Zealand. This promises to be an interesting evening, with the opportunity to see some of the reptiles up close. Wednesday 17 October The National Aquarium of New Zealand Marine Parade NAPIER 7:30pm

18000k sounds odd for freshwater. Is that K as in degrees Kelvin? They could be Saltwater tubes then. Don't forget you were going to get some guppys off me, there are some with red tails sizing up quite nicely. Probably best to cycle with these, rather than buying some GBAs first off. Let me know when you want them, and I will drop them off. Are the rooms in Eastbourne St?

Yes, Caper, the licking dog with the blue background. I admired Alan for his sense of humour, passion and enthusiasm for killies, or anything that took his fancy, espcially Rose. And his ability to talk incessantly about fish and his fishroom and eating lunch all at the same time. In the immortal words of Herc, the Toyota dog - 'Bugger'

Except you're not going to use Evil's pic of Java Moss, are you? It looks like something from the bottom of the shower! (Well in our house anyway, four females, all with long dark hair...)

Maybe we should be getting more pics onto the plant survey, there are a couple, but not many. Who should we send them to to do this, I wonder?

Remember that Blue Rams like a mature tank, so don't even think about cycling with them. You still after some Star Grass?

The colour that leaches out of the driftwood probably won't do much harm, it is only worth taking out if you don't like tea coloured water! Airstones are for human aesthetic purposes only, and don't do much for the fish either way, but if you like the bubbly effect, by all means put one in the tank. Plant food is a tricky one, some people have their favourites that they swear by, others don't bother and leave it to the fish poop to fertilize their plants. It would possibly depend on what particular plants you have, and what their lighting/fertilizer requirements are. Generally the more light demanding plants - especially the red leafed ones, may require some ferts to keep them happy. Be careful with the G clamp on the filter, brittle plastic may not take to the uneven pressure too well. Maybe an elastic tiedown thingy (the ones you use to hold your bike onto a car rack) may be better, or perhaps a nylon ratchet tie down. Someone else may have a better idea.

Show off! Now I'm jealous! Some nice looking little tanks there, guys.

Also, remember that a 'cute little BTA' can turn into a rather large tank hogging monster...

Pygmy corys might be happier with a larger number, I had twelve, but are down to three at the moment. When there were more of them they used to swim about in a bunch in mid water all the time, but now that there are only three, I hardly see them out and about.

Don't panic Caper - you can handle it... Our Peppered Corys were always up to no good, eggs everywhere. Do you get Methelene Blue over there - a drop or two will help stop the eggs getting fungus. Don't clean the bottom of the tank too much either, the young'uns like to grovel around in the muck and eat it.

You planning to get a job at Novus, Evil???

Have a look here, Wasp. Somewhere between numbers 21 to 29 possibly? http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-B ... dy-d7.html Sorry no photos, though.

Hi Bill You can put some more ceramic noodles in the cannister instead of filter wool, which may cut you flow when it starts to get clogged up with gunk - or some coarse sponge to give you more surface area for nitrifying bacteria to cling to. If you want some hardy cycling fish, I can give you a few guppies to get the process started, they seem to be able to handle this quite well. I don't think the Bristlenoses will cause too much trouble for the killies, but Plecos can be a bit mean to your plants, digging them up and munching on the leaves. Clown Loaches are quite sensitive to tank conditions, and can be prone to white spot when stressed, so if you want to add some, make sure that your tank has cycled properly and the parameters are stable before adding them.