Whiskas

Funny - i hav 2 borneo suckers (aka hillstream loaches) in a 13L tank with approx 12 juvie leopardfish. The tank has a filter and a bubbler in it, along with plants and rocks, the heater is set at its lowest (as in winter the water temp gets really low without it - but at this time of the year it gets up to around 25). All the fish are VERY happy! These are WAY cool fish - there a post on here of some guy who has a whole lot of different types, check it out.

WOW! Didnt realise there were so many different colours etc! I got 2 that look like Gastromyzon ctenocephalus. Is there a way to tell males and females apart? I dont think my 2 are a pair as they havn't produced any young but they are WAY cool fish and are in with my Leopardfish. Happy chappies they are

I had a goldfish who would do this - his was a bit more like rasping. I first noticed him doing it when i put him in a hospital tank after some BAD food killed off all his pond mates! Took me a while to realise it was actually the fish making the noise! Funny lil blighter he was, had nine lives - which finally ran out this year

cool i wont worry about it too much then

Umm, it at home and i access this at work - lets see it at the bottom of what my tester will show which i think is pH6 ? Yeah i know the killies love it so not worried about their tank I didn't realise that appistos enjoy a lower pH, the book i have about cichlids says a more alkaline water is preferred. What mum has exactly as i investigated last night is one male cockatoo cichlid and a pair of gold rams - so do they like a lower pH or more alkaline? There is no driftwood in mums tank, she did have all her twisted val die off and now her dwarf sag grass (i think) is dying off too - the other 4 plants are doing fine (java fern, red ludwigia, lil anubius and another that is not cabomba but thats what i always think its called). What does the low kH do? Is that that stuff thats good for buffering? Is it better to have it higher? How do you do that?

Just got sand and then stones on top. With plants and one of my tanks has some driftwood. While mums has sand, stones, resin ornament and plants. I put a shell in my livebearer tank some time ago (think it was 2yrs) and it is almost completely dissolved!! I just been searching through the internet to see what i could find also and found this interesting bit: http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_adjusting_pH.php

Why does the water in my tanks go acidic? It comes out of the tap neutral but my tanks water is acidic - great for my remaining killies not so for my mums cichlids (she has the same problem and apistogramma cichlids like slightly more alkaline water, yeah?). I am not overly keen on using the pH Up and Down stuff as it can spike. We both do 20% water changes every week (admittedly missing occasionally and it being 2 weeks instead of 1). Are there any other ways to make the water more neutral and keep it that way?

they are way cool smallish tropical fish. there are different ones, so google 'killifish' and have a look.

I had my killies (Epiplatys degati) in a tank with lots of plants and larger pebbles on the bottom and some of the fry survived ( ihad a total of about 4 survive, but my tank wasn't heavily planted and a few got cleaned out with my filter and when i pulled out the excess duckweed and riccia ). The larger pebbles (like 3cm or so in diameter) meant there were gaps around the pebbles which allowed the fry and eggs to "hide" in. Then as they swam around they hid in the weeds. The only prob was the fry got sucked into the filter and then when the filter was cleaned the bubs came out. I also had duckweed and riccia (? is that what it is called its a floating plant) and java moss for them to hide in. The killies absolutely adore live food - this includes fry and eggs. They may also pick on your WCMMs as when i put some young guppies in the tank with my killies they nipped their tails.

Mine are at 18 degrees and breed happily. She has anywhere between 5 and 12 bubs at a time They are really easy to breed - as with most livebearers.

so thats where all my snails went YAY

I also have a friend who has had her fish dying. She has bred goldies for over 45yrs and recently they have been dying off for no apparent reason. Unfortunately it has also been all her larger breeding stock. She has 5 ponds, we have done water changes and cleaned the ponds out, it didn't help. She decided to just leave them now and count her losses The only thing we could think of was the neighbour was spraying and it was coming over the 6 foot fence - the only prob with this idea is that the ponds are on different fence lines. Perhaps it is the changeable weather???

I musta got mine for a steal then! They were just $7 each from my lfs - he was selling dwarf chain loaches as sparkling loaches as thats what the wholesaler was selling them as. I told him what they were and still got them for $7. 8)

they are way cool! I hve 2 of the little guys or perhaps gurlz :lol: Would luv to get some more! I have them in with my Leopardfish and they all seem to do well. I have my little pump running on max plus a air bubbler. I turn these off at night - i know naughty naughty, but they are in my room and it is just too noisy with them on. I have my heater on low and the tank temp ranges from 18 - 20 degrees (cools down at night due to the lack of water moving over the heater).

Congrats! Saw some in Masterton Seed And Pet co. They were pretty cool!

k, thanx. Ryanjury's does seem to be more streamlined. So how do you end up with a balloon ram like my mums? Is it just too much inbreeding? And is it inbreeding to get the smaller size or the brighter colours? Cos mums appears to be a brighter yellow than the one ryanjury posted, which is why i ask. Ryanjury's with the long fins, is pretty cool but is it considered "normal"? (this is not an insult, just wondering) Is it possible to breed the ballon shape out? Back to a more normal shape?

anyone else with any opinions...?

Thanx Olly for putting the pics up Yeah he looked a lil in-between to me too so thought i would put it to you guys

Is this fella a balloon ram or a normal? http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/2790510671_a68377b48e.jpg?v=0 http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3119/2790878861_d133e1e6cf.jpg?v=0 http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/2791723100_11620158d6.jpg?v=0

I got a couple of these from my lfs. They are cool! He (the store owner)was doing an experiment by keeping some in coldwater (unheated) and some in tropical water. He found that the ones in the unheated tank grew faster than the ones in the tropical tank. I have mine in a tank that is kept around the 18-20 degree mark and they are doing well. the female has dropped some babes - quite out of the blue since the male died the day i got it, about 2 months ago (the lfs is going to replace him but i said dont worry at the mo due to the babies arriving!) I have mine in with a couple of Borneo suckers - also VERY cool fish!

Anyone heard of these or seen? There is one for sale on TM and they dont have a pic up. Sounds interesting though!

:lol:

did i get a surprise when doing a water change on teh weekend - my female leopard fish (the only one i have) had dropped some babies, about 4 are left. I didn't even realise she was "pregnant" and i haven't ahad a boy for some time. Hopefully they will all grow up big and strog so i can offer a couple to you guys Wont be for some time though, want to wait for them to mature first.

I have just added 5 of these fellas to my community tank recently. Last night i noticed one of them was quite a lot fatter than the others, not all over fat just belly is fatter, is it possible she is "pregnant" (I know not the right word)? And do they breed in tanks? She (it) doesn't appear to have any signs of illness. As i dont see them all that regularly due to them hanging out in the HUGE bunch of java moss in the tank it is difficult to keep a close eye on them. I will try my best to get a pic of the fat one and post it up.

cool thanx Thought it might be. They cost me $7 each - is this a good price? I will go tell the shop i got them from that they are dwarf chain loach and that he will need to change the name he is selling them under so other people dont get confused! They are cool lil fellas! May go get a couple more then to keep them happy if the shop still has them