SpidersWeb

Sounds fine to me (depending on size) however Firemouths are not as aggressive as others in that selection. They would be fine provided enough space and that they are much bigger than the convicts. Young firemouths are likely to be picked on. They're quite a softy as far as cichlids go, and rely on their 'puff neck' to scare fish away, but I've never had any that backed up that threat with a bite, and convicts etc learn this.

Well it gets printed that you bred the species, and recorded in FNZAS history, plus you get a cert for each breeding and pins for breeding a certain number of species. You also earn your club points which go towards breeding trophies. The other reason is because then other people can see what is being bred and where. This helps people not only find fish from breeders, but also to identify which species aren't being bred (so they know where breedings are needed). I've been slack myself My list of recent: - tonnes of black tuxedo guppies (at least 50) - lots of platy (at least 50-75) - angelfish - given away over 50 convicts a few months ago that I'd bred a few months back - zebra danio - bristlenose

Yeah it's a good product and well known, but NZ water is pretty good so not really needed unless you're having problems. Use it in moderation and only when replacing water, so if you add 50 litres of water, then dose for 50L. I found using too many water conditioners made the water go funny, so I stopped, and just use a squirt of water ager when doing large changes.

- glass very very clean (dont use chemicals though) - use a flash but try to take photos on an angle, so the flash doesn't bounce off the glass Those are the first steps without getting complex.

They're not even tanks at all, they're nets! Congrats on the young ones Z

Congratulations on the new wrigglers I've got 4 pairs of angels in a 200L community, with platy, danios, dwarf cichlids, golden bristlenose, kribensis etc, all get a long fine but eggs must be removed the day they are laid just before the lights go out or they'll get eaten. Missed out last night, got home after the timer had switched the light off, went in and turned the lights back on to find one pair trying to protect all of 8 eggs :oops: so missed out on that batch, shouldn't be long until I get a new batch. Careful when growing them out as well, mine were the size of a 50 cent piece and started attacking each other like crazy, had to put them in the 200L community with the others (and they're doing fine now).

Also they might not be used to the bright light. They should get used to it with time (say a few days or a week). Some other tips are to make sure the light is on for a few hours each day and try feeding during the day or with light behind you. If the room is dark and the light is on then the fish don't see you until you're right at the glass and it usually scares the bajebus out of the poor guys.

Yes, underground food is a big bonus to rooted plants. Laterite is a good product. Mixing with sand would be ok provided it will stay under the sand, and no fish dig in it. I'd recommend making a gravel/laterite bed then sand on top. An alternative to Laterite is Daltons Aquatic mix. A 10kg bag can be had for around $10 at most of the large home improvement stores (e.g. Bunnings, Mega Mitre 10). They all sell it (can order it) but not all will have it in stock. With this you make a thin layer of the clay (about 1cm) then cover with lots of gravel.

I have't used Juwel heaters, but the brand itself has been highly recommended. I religously go with AquaOne now as they're reliable and well priced. AquaClear,Masterpet, and Jebo are the only ones I avoid now.

Its even worse with Platys. Basically their body is so exhausted (yours would be too if you just gave birth to 20 or so babies!!) so their immune systems are low and so is there energy, add to this the interest from males they become very stressed and easily become ill in this time.

If you can take her out of the tank that would be advised. Otherwise you risk the other fish as well. There are vet prescribed medications that may help, but I doubt you'd want to go to that trouble and expense for a single swordtail.

Wellington/Lower Hutt is on unchlorinated anyway I think? Only Upper Hutt and Porirua etc get the chlorinated stuff? But anyway, I only use water ager when changing more than 20-30% of the water. Not using water ager on 50% changes (for example) usually results in a nitrite spike over the next couple of days. For everyday water changes I never waste my water ager. Keep it for big changes only.

You can buy a package of Amrid cheap enough. I got a small milk carton sized container for $2.90. Might be a good idea to keep some in the cupboard in case it happens again. You can also buy products like Ammo-Lock which are great for emergencies like these. Sorry I didn't post earlier, hope the fish are doing well!!

I've had Jebo, AquaClear and Masterpet heaters fail. AquaOne's (even ones I got 2nd hand) have never given me trouble, and oddly the only heaters I own that haven't built up water on the inside (moisture + bi-metal thermostat = bad). Elite is another brand I've had good success with. Never tried Fluval or Jager, as I haven't been able to validate the extra cost as my AquaOne's just dont fail. But it is certainly worth the price difference when comparing the awful Masterpets and the AquaOne models!

Whoops, they changed the day on me. It is the second Wednesday of every month, so it is indeed NEXT WED evening.

Oh noes! The Upper Hutt club meets every 2nd Thursday. Which is this one coming (Thurs 10th May @ 7.30).

I have an Elite Mini, threw it out last night. Was fantastic when it was new, but over a couple of months it slowed down more and more and more (even with no media in it), then last night it rattled itself to death. I'd go with either air powered undergravel, small HOB (you can get a tiny Jebo hang-on for $11 on trademe new!!), or another small internal just to replace what you have already. I've been tempted to try those Stingray filters for small tanks, but never actually bought one. Sponge filters work great for fry tanks provided they flow enough and you don't overfeed. My two fry tanks are sponge filter powered.

I have Bolivians and angels in the same tank. No problems at all with mine, the two species dont even really interact in my tank. It may be different if you have a breeding pair of Bolivian Rams, as mine are both boys. Even when aggressive angels are usually harmless, most of the time mine only get aggressive when defending a spawning site, which is ok in a 4 foot tank as there is enough room for everyone to get lost for a little bit.

Welcome Peter See you at the meeting later this week!

There are huge benefits to sumps yes, aeration and the share quanity of media you can use. I'm not saying sumps are bad, I'm just saying they aren't ideal for many people and often too much hassle to get reliably running and doing so quietly. You can get a HOB syphon setup which is great until it clogs or gets air in it. Not worth the hassle if the old system was doing a perfect job anyway.

I'd get the pump replaced. $375 then its done. Only inconvinence is keeping the filter media alive. With a sump you'll need another tank, have it sectioned, buy a return pump, buy the piping, drain your main tank and temporarily house the fish in another tank or the bath or something, then have the big tank drilled, then have it plumbed up, and once finished you'll have to deal with the noise of the water trickling. There are ways around some of those barriers, such as the Tunze overflow as mentioned above, but at the end of the day its a huge pain in the ass. Easier to just fix what you already have and know works (or at least has done for the last 2 years). Sumps are great, but you have to be realistic.

The green water is fine, but usually it is caused by high nitrate levels, which are often caused by poor mainteance. High nitrate is ok, and the greenwater/plants eat it, but there are other chemicals/toxins that can build up too so it would be ideal to make sure you're still doing the occasional partial water changes.

Yep, they swim around and the fish will go crazy for them. Loved the expression on my angels when they first saw them, had a few seconds of shock before they realised exactly what was going on, after that they were like pirahna, put the net in the water and they'd jump in it trying to get the dapnia before anyone else. Also they eat water born algae, so are handy if you ever get your tank going solid green, will clean up the water like magic.

Daphnia are water fleas. When you get a netfull you'll get all sorts of sizes, so great for a range of fish to hunt down and snack. Best place is to go to Private Trade and Exchange and say you want some. Many local fishkeepers will give you a small amount for free, or charge a minimal fee of about $5 (+ postage if needed). Doubt you'll be able to get them from the LFS unfortunately.

Yes but I wouldn't becuase of insectisides etc they might have picked up, and would be kind of tricky to feed I imagine?