Zev

I read somewhere that you can use a net curtain pegged to the edge of the tank, leaving a couple of inches off the bottom of the tank, then throw the fish on top - add water first, of course! Bare bottom tanks are easier to vacuum with a bit of air line hose.

Can you get the higher k rated 'energy saver' lamps in NZ? I bought a 5000k 13w bayonet cap lamp from Bunnings in Melbourne when we were there earlier this year, but most of the ones you get locally are 'warm white' 2400k. My Riccia loves this lamp, as does my Hyrophila Difformis.

Her you go, Caper, article on the wee beasties. http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Hydra.htm

Received my book today, thanks. I have had a quick flick through, the photos are great, good for ID-ing my plants, and it appears very informative. My only regret is that we can't get some of the plants here!

How's the tank going, Antwan?

Obviously not camera shy! The male looks good, GeeTee. I bet you're pleased you swapped him.

How much aeration do you need to hatch Brine shrimp? Should they be constantly spinning in the eternal vortex of dizziness, or will a little surface agitation suffice?

You can buy it at your LFS, it's called Filter Wool, comes in a few different size bags. It's just a sheet of stuff like you would use for Quilting, or the stuff the cats rip out of the middle of our cushions! Which you can get at a sewing shop like Spotlight or Arthur Toye. There is also a compressed version at the LFS, like it's been ironed flat - don't know how this would go, seems to be less surface area, and possibly would clog quicker. I don't know which is the cheaper option, furniture stuffing, or the stuff at the LFS. Perhaps its what is handy at the time, and whether you want to drive around and look for other stuff. Do they put mould inhibitors in the furniture and cushion stuff?

Oops! But you don't appear to be on the list?

There you go, Caper, now you just have to scroll down to 'MAS' as your club when you request Gallery access!

ok, the wee things that we saw initally must be some other little bug-things, they move in fits and starts along the bottom of the container. They must have come with the Riccia. Any ideas of what they could be? The fry have now appeared, I can only see half a dozen or so at any one time. Hopefully there aren't a hundred or so, or I will have to find another tank to grow them on! We got some Java Moss and snails from BlueandKim, and I put this in the tank where the fry are floating in a plastic container with the Riccia were the nest was built. I threw in the first two Neons that I could catch out of our community tank to keep the sponge filter bacteria happy. Next thing I see is the Neons writhing around in the Java moss scattering eggs everywhere! There is some pretty severe lighting over the tank to keep the Riccia growing, and the parents ate most of the eggs, so I thought nothing would eventuate. But this morning I see two eggs with tails cruising around the bottom of the tank! The Neons have been returned to the community tank.

Maybe you could pm cees and ask for special dispensation? You can only but try. Since you are waaaayy over there, an exception may be made for you!

The gallery is at the top of the page, Caper Shame more people don't use it, you can load your images straight to it, not like posting on the forums.

What other products are available out there for general ferts?

Man, you must have a pretty sharp pencil, then, these things are tiny!

Just how big (or should that be small) are the fry? Are they soo small that we could be imagining that the wee specks we see are darting around are fry, or is it some microscopic organism that has been living in the Riccia all along? Everybody here is going crosseyed!

Wow, totally different animal, isn't he? And he appears to have all his fins! What do the other two girls think of him?

How about a picture of the new boy?

So can you just use Excel as a fertiliser, or is that overkill? It's the only Seachem fertiliser that I can find locally.

Oh Caper, sounds like you are having a few problems, whatever happens, don't dispair, there are plenty of people over here hoping for a speedy recovery. I noticed that you have been doing the salt thing, have you allowed your tank to return to 'normal' before putting more meds in? One may be conteracting the other, or causing a buildup of something in paritcular that is compounding your problems. Someone more knowledgeable in the meds line may be able to help. What temp is your tank? Is the water you are putting back when you do a water change a similar temperature?

Will do! I have shifted the nest. The male is now decimating my dwarf hairgrass by yanking it out of the gravel and sticking it up amongst the Riccia to 'fortify' his new nest. That is, after he swimming around the tank with it dragging behind him for a couple of laps!

After aquiring some Riccia from BlueandKim, my male gourami built a nest, and tonight he and the female (whom he normally chases around and bullys) were up to no good. They are in my community tank, how how do I go about protecting them from the other hungry gannets in the tank? I cannot parition it, as it is heavily planted and has a big hunk of driftwood running down it's length. If I take it out, I think my Hillstream Loaches will have a panic fit. Can I carefully net, or use a container to get the whole thing out and put it in another tank? If so, when? Should I leave it in the community tank? Then how do I feed them without polluting the whole tank?

Your tank is the same depth as mine, I have put a 40mm strip of black foam board (black foam sandwiched between black card) around the base of the front and sides of my tank so that you can't see all the substrate, just 20mm of gravel. This stops you seeing the gritty stuff at the bottom (maybe I'm too fussy about this sort of thing, but hey, it's gotta look good). When I redo this tank (or should that be undo?) I will look at putting Daltons Aquatic Mix on the bottom, rather than the sand. It was all I could find at the time I set it up, but now I have found a source for the proper stuff. I put the substrate in first, half filled it with water, then planted. You don't have to get wet all the way up to your armpits this way, even if it is a small tank. Then filled to the top, waited for the muck to settle, added filter, then three Corydoras.

How big is your tank? I have a 600 x 300 x300 mm planted tank, it has 30mm of Daltons propogating sand and on top of that 30mm of 5-9mm gravel. You can see a pic of it when it was first set up if you click Gallery at the top navigation of the page, or click here: http://gallery.guppies.co.nz/displayima ... 0023&pos=2

err.. bad photography, since the plant is near the surface and close to the lights (2x 15w 7000k fluros) it's a bit washed out. And it is not varigated, the green is the algae, and the leaf is actually a lighter green. Don't know what it is, I purchased it as a bulk lot off Waterplantz on the local internet auction site, they came in three bags, labeled 'foreground', 'middle' and 'tall', along with all the names of the plants in each bag, So I am none the wiser as to which is which. Some of the plants thrive in my tank, others struggle, so I am considering some fertilizer for them.