Zev

About an hour and a half.

Yup, the common thing is to sandwich the moss between two layers of mesh, sew it together, then attach it with suction cups - lots of suction cups. Since my tank is only little, I went for the streamlined and somewhat cheats way of just sticking it straight to the back glass....

I like to have a nosey around here when researching biotopes http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope_africa ... an%20River http://fish.mongabay.com/data/Senegal.htm

Don't think so, Jim. It's quite soft and looks like a sort of thread woven net with a soft plastic coating on it. I have an awful suspicion that it is that anti-slip stuff you put under large things you don't want migrating off the shelf! Pic of wall in progress - I was going to take more and do an article for Caryl, but got distracted, and forgot to take more pics. Don't tell her, either! I siliconed the bottom down first and let it dry, then taped it to the bottom out of the way, then spread the moss down - a little bit goes a long way, but I suppose if you wanted it to grow out quicker, you could put a thicker layer down. Then I put some dobs of silicone at the sides and top, and a few in the middle so it wouldn't sag, then sat the netting down on top, and poked it down a wee bit so that the silicone came over the edges of the netting.

The moss is Christmas moss, and the netting I found laying around in the garage (fat lot of help that is, I know!) it mesh gap is about 6 - 7mm across. I just used one layer and silicon'd it to the back wall with the tank laying on its side. I put a plastic bag over the top to top the moss drying out while the silicone cured, but later found the fumes killed off the moss around the dobs of silicone for a 20mm radius! It is growing back now, though.

Male, first two pictures - has red on top and bottom of tail, and along the top of the dorsal and a thin band of yellow on the anal fin (in this type of fish I suppose the anal fin runs the length of the bottom of the fish!) Female, third pic - no colouration on tail, and even more confusingly can have a thin line of red on the dorsal fin as well as a thin line of yellow on the anal fin. The anal fin is sometimes more mottled with brown than the male. Males tend to chase the females around - seems to be a gourami thing - hence the females spend a lot of time hiding from them. They like a well matured tank with soft/acidic water 27 - 28 deg C, PH 5 - 6.5, kH 0 - 4, GH 0 - 5, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia as low as possible. The more acidic and purer the water, the better the chances at breeding. So RODI water is probably a good idea for water changes.

lol

http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/P-pulcher.html#7

http://www.seachem.com/products/product ... rigen.html The good thing about this product is that you can regenerate it and use it again and again for a considerable amount of time.

I hate to say, but that's what our boy looked like before he karked it... He got fatter and looked like a pinecone in the end. The scales look rough in the first picture, not smooth and sleek as they should be, to my eye

Now that's scary....

Remember that Bichirs need to surface, 700mm deep may be too much for them, something like 300mm of water with a good air gap would be better, go for length and width over height. If you go 1200 x 450 x 450mm a Bichir would be just as happy, and you would be looking at roughly 80kg less weight, as you don't fill it right up to the top.

And make sure you rinse it out properly - speaking from experience! I would even go as far as drying it out with some handy kitchen towels and letting it dry in the sun, too. But that may be overkill?

Lol Never underestimate how many shrimp pellets your cat can get out of the container with her paws and stuff in her mouth in the short time it takes for you to put the container down on the table, turn around and feed the pellets to your fish, and turn around again to put the lid back on....

Hmm... does this mean I will have to buy lots of chocolate until I get the right ones?? Sounds good to me!

Nope, not yet. The cost of bottle hire per month is pretty steep down here, I may look at bush-pigging it up to a Sodastream bottle!!

Does it have corregated hoses? Our Fluval does, and after you restart it the damn thing spits out pale ginger fluffy looking gunk all over the tank, takes a day to clear. Probably should clean them out with a brush on a wire, but that means I will have to disconnect the whole lot off the tank and Co2 system... lazy, eh?

My Hairgrass doesn't grow too well without the Co2, gets stunted and grows some weird ginger algae on it. Love the last photo of your Discus tank, Matt.

about 5mm, they are about five days old. They can swim pretty fast when being chased, too!

Asian Biotope, waiting for the moss wall to grow in.... 450 x 250 x 270mm 1 x 9w 6500k PC Flourescent 1 drop PMDD every 2 days 400mm cube, Supposed to be a South American Biotope but somehow has a couple of Sparkling Gourami interlopers! Nutrafin Co2 with Ball Reactor on filter return. 1 x 70w 6500k MH. Hence the real sunburnt look! The Hairgrass is actualy green, I may look at shifting the lamp up a bit higher.. 3 drops PMDD daily

Just noticed this scooting around in the tank.

Hey Billaney - what sort of chocolates do you buy for Mrs B to get the sides for the Mk 3?

Hi Fran What sort of planted tank are you looking at setting up? Or probably more to the point, what sort of plants are you looking at having in your tank? If you are after some of the lush carpet-like ground covers, such as Hairgrass or Glosso or even Riccia at ground level, good lighting is essential. The amount and type of lighting you will require is also dependant on the depth of your tank, anything over 600mm and even Metal Halides will struggle to give you adequate light at the bottom. Unfortunately, a good source of light at the correct colour temperature and watts per litre can lead to the necessity of Co2 and a fertilizer regime. I have a 400mm cube tank, which I put a 70w 6500degK lamp over, the Hairgrass struggled, it was short and pale and got some strange ginger algae on it until I got my Co2 (Nutrafin bottle with a Ball reactor on the filter outlet) set up, AND the added correct amout of ferts daily (PMDD). Now it grows like a weed! There are quite a few people on the forums who use Co2 in one form or another, from DIY to the full blown regulator/needle valve/hire Co2 bottle/diffuser setups. Have a look here, they usually state what setups are being used. http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2 ... w-showcase

Dang, you want pics the same week I have done a major hack-back of my plants? You will have to wait until it's looking half decent again...

So, Ron, who drinks all the Fizzy drinks so you can house your fish?