SpidersWeb

Daphnia is easy to do in large populations. What I do is buy a rubbish bin (one of those big ones that holds 2 bags of rubbish with the lids), fill 3/4 with water, throw in some lettuce. If it gets really gross, maybe a little less lettuce, if nothing happens after 2 days, maybe some more. I'd start with 1/4 lettuce, but that could be considered too much. Dont put the lid on the bin, and put it somewhere with light. Anyway eventually the water goes this browny/green colour. This is when its time to add the Daphnia. Daphnia eat the browny green bacteria in the water, so to feed the culture you need to put in more lettuce. I used to put in leaves once a week. If the water goes clear, more lettuce, if its starting to smell and go icky, less lettuce. You can also breed water snails in here (ramshorn or pond snails). The result is thousands of daphnia, so you can get a couple of net fulls a day to feed your fish live food. Just scoop in your fishnet, and let them go in the tank. If you've got larger fish with teeth or a puffer, you now could also have a good stash of water snails that is also constantly on the go. At the right time of year you also get mosquito larvae (better in your fish tank supply than your local pond!!). I'm going on about it because I think it was a fantastic solution. Especially if you or your partner eats lettuce, but not enough to finish it. We used to be throwing out half an old lettuce each week anyway. Setup needs no maintenance, just put it somewhere out of the way, maybe behind the shed. Microworms are great for baby fish, but the containers need regular cycling etc, I found it too much work so I just use decap brine shrimp instead. I haven't tried whiteworms or tubifex. Freshly hatched brine shrimp are the best things ever, but hatching is a pain in the bum for those of us without the time.

If you don't have a brine shrimp net, then you can use coffee filters from the supermarket

A teaspoon or two of baking soda (to raise the pH) really helps as well.

I'm interested in good strains too. Quality guppies are even harder to find down this end of the country. So if anyone has some let me know

Another bonus is you wont get that bugger of a black beard algae. Looks great Light + Fert + Excel = boooom

Thanks And I did agree with what you said, just wanna focus on my cute wee fishy is all

All good David. I just didn't want my thread turning in to a finger-wagging session because it brings unnessecary negativity to something I was stoked about. Also my fish was a re-homee, not fresh imported stock via Animates or anything like that. To be honest the vast majority of Giant Gourami end up as food, as that is what they're actually bred for. Mystic - if you want to vent or protest about the situation of large fish being imported pretty please create another thread. I'm just trying to enjoy my purchase with other people. Danilda - you're welcome to come back anytime. He's really curious, great fish. The angels that laid last night were standard striped angels but I do have some black fry on the grow

Yeah they dont flow enough for normal tank use. Ideal for raising small fry that would be sucked up or blown around by anything bigger.

I know you're trying to help offer good advice here, but I do know what I am doing. I am an experienced fish keeper and have done my research. While it was an impulse buy I knew what I was in for. This post was more about having a laugh at what I've gotten myself in to and to share my new purchase with members rather than seeking advice. There are other members of the FNZAS who own Giant Gourami's, and I've talked to them previously, read their posts on here (and on other forums). I'm quite aware of what is needed to care for a giant gourami. I'm also in a financial position where that won't be a problem. I certainly wont be rehoming a 2' fish either. If I chose to rehome him it will be much earlier. If a larger tank is urgently needed it will likely be 6x2x2 to be replaced by an 8x3x2 in the future. I'll have to give up my two 4 foot tanks to allow space to do this. Once he's larger than 20cm I'll start talking to a vet to allow future moves to be done stress free. At the moment he is very happy where he is but I will be sincerely watching his growth rate. He is being fed flake, peas and lettuce at the moment and is a real guts. Given the large numbers of baby giant gourami I've seen available recently, I wouldn't be worrying about this one right at the moment

Large tank, if I can't then I'll rehome.

Yeah in the long term I'd want something 3ft wide to allow for his length. Foxglove - to watch him in person is identical to your moonlight gourami, except he's white, although I know that probably wont last too long hehe

Yeah my lionheads were raised with convicts, and I'd say the Lionheads were slightly more aggressive when defending territory. Anywho here he is: Giant Golden Gourami, looks great, really curious fish, and he just has to glare at the lionheads to get them to move out of his way Worked perfectly so far, the Lionheads quite happily swim out and about confidently now. Obviously if there are any problems I have other tanks and can move fish around if needed but they're getting on perfectly. If he does grow an inch a week as some people have suggested on other messageboards then it wont be long until I have to give up my two 4ft setups for a single large tank before long. Angelfish laid eggs again tonight, but dont have the energy to move the eggs. I'm also getting tired of changing my filter inlet tube haha

Needed some dither fish for the Lionhead tank (yes they have their own tank now). So went on my merry way to pet store to get some danios. Came home with a 6 inch golden giant gourami :roll: Apparently they grow up to an inch a week, so going to be needing a new tank soon I assume :oops: Pics to come, just thought I'd share my little adventure on the weekend.

The ones in Luke's post are what I use and recommend. Haven't seen them in stores, I just make use of when our club does bulk buys. They're great because they're weighted, so no stupid suction cups! If I need one in a hurry I just get the $8 ones from LFS, but they're not as good as those. Can't remember the brand they're just labeled SPONGE FILTER. Be careful with using a corner filter, as the fish can swim in, and when you remove it you take some wtih you.

If you're keeping a tank at 22C don't get BN, they will survive (at least the black ones) but you're cutting it fine. Try Borneo Suckers instead.

Temp drop + 50% water change could've easily resulted in the death of some of the beneficial bacteria in the filter. Fish could simply be dying from a nitrite peak. First thing I'd do would be a nitrite and ammonia test. Also they may have unplugged the filter as well when the heater was disconnected. Just another possibility. I find the bacteria that does nitrite -> nitrate is the easiest to kill, and nitrite is a silent killer.

If two are fighting they will likely be males. I try to divide my tank up with bits of wood etc, and I've found the males will generally keep away from each other unless somebody comes over to the wrong side.

CO2 definately isn't necessary, I prefer to use Flourish Excel as an alternative, and even then that isn't needed. Fish breathe in O2 and breathe out CO2, so there is always CO2 around, its just that increasing it certainly helps the plants out a lot Trick is with fish, is there just needs to be a certain amount of oxygen, its not an on or off, how much is needed varies. But basically you want the least amount of water movement possible, without the fish struggling (e.g. hanging near the surface). Its a tricky balance, hence why I just wuss out and use Flourish Excel on its own with general fish plant ferts.

CO2 diffusers split carbon dioxide (CO2) in to tiny bubbles which allow the CO2 to be absorbed by the water. 'Airpumps' blow air (nitrogen + oxygen etc) in to the water to make bubbles, which create circulation and help the water absorb more O2 (normally a bi-product of the circulation). The air stones used to break the air in to bubbles makes large bubbles because their purpose is to increase circulation. CO2 diffusers make much smaller bubbles because they dont want to make any unnessecary current and to give the CO2 more of a chance to get absorbed (more bubbles=more total surface area). More circulation = more oxygen, less carbon dioxide Less circulation + CO2 diffuser = less oxygen, more carbon dioxide. Using an airstone to induce CO2 is a wee bit sad because each bubble that makes it to the surface is completely wasted, which is 99% of it

What I did was get a rubbish bin (yano the big round bins most people keep outside), filled it with water outside, any leftover lettuce went straight in to it, gradually I had to feed it more and more to keep the water green (was quite impressive how good daphnia are at filteration!!!!). Was taking solid netfulls out daily, but the more daphnia I wanted the more rotten lettuce I had to chuck in.

I'm far from a 'pro' on goldfish, but missing scales on any fish usually means to me some kind of physical activity (rather than a virus). I also remember my parents having a goldfish pond, and in summer the fish would jump out of the water in a breeding frenzy. What I'm wondering, is if the warmer weather has made one of the females release eggs and they've been jumping around? Or perhaps a couple of them got in the organment at the same time, they got hurt then, but you didn't notice until later?? Just some ideas!

Yeah I suck. But only because those crappy auto-start syphons last like a month before the seal breaks :roll: :roll: Remember though, good fishkeepers don't swallow.

Yep fish provide CO2, and the poop is fertiliser. But you get much more intense growth with Flourish Excel or heavy CO2. You dont NEED it but it does provide faster growth, leaves are larger and with stronger colouration. I'm not saying it because its what I heard, I'm saying it because I trialed CO2, the natural method, different levels of lighting, different tubes, Flourish Excel, Flourish, and underground fert. Underground Fert ($8 bag is enough to do 3 or 4 200L aquariums) + Fish + Excel + 6500K lighting (just $7 T8 tubes)= breathtaking results with no beard algae.

Have to say, I'd recommend Flourish Excel too. The expense of CO2 and the payoff for anything under about 400 litres isn't really worth it (my personal opinion). Doing CO2 properly costs hundreds and easily over the thousand dollar mark at times, not to mention pH tests, then the timers, then checking for pH swings at night, reducing top current but then is there enough air? then finding a place that'll refil the bottle cheap, not to mention actually finding a bottle....... its ok for the indulgent enthusiast, but for a nice planted tank Excel and a little fert does the trick with magnificent results.

Oh and yeah underground ferts help a lot. Can get a bag of aquatic mix for $8 at garden centre (the big ones anyway). but you need to rinse it a little and put tonnes of gravel on top. Flourish Excel has clearly come down in price, or Flourish has gone up lol not sure which.