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Try seperating the skinny loaches in to another setup, aquarium or even a big bucket they can live in for a few weeks with heater and small filter or airstone, then try to feed them up. * (if using air stone or new filter, remember regular water changes). Because of the hierachy, the smallest fish eat last, so weak loaches can end up dead because they don't have the energy to fight for their place in the food line. I've had to seperate a skinny loach before, poor guy was so hungry he'd click at me for food. If any other fish show signs of similar symptoms, then certainly go down the medicine track.

I'd expect around the 200-300 mark.

Sweet, thanks for the suggestions Blue Rams are a great idea, and definately considering them! I've got a trio of Apistogramma Agasezii again too, so maybe later on some offspring would be a great choice. Also a few danios might help with movement in the upper area too. Thanks for that suggestion Fast enough to not get bitten by any cichlid action down below. Foxglove - when the fish outgrow the aquarium I will rehome them in one of mine. puddles - Yeah I miss the oscars, Jag isn't quite the same, although I put a tank of baby convicts next to his last night, should have seen his face light up! Thinking of giving him a red devil to play with. Anyway, I still haven't 100% decided what my recommendation will be, although I'm still leaning towards a young pair of convicts. Would a bristlenose be a good idea, or would that cause problems with eggs?

Whats the dimensions of the inside area of your hood? Did you want one tube or two tubes? I'll be able to tell you what to ask for. I go to Advance Electrical, but Mastertrade is just as good. NB: wiring it up requires electronics knowledge etc, so if you're not confident its a good idea to get help from somebody with more experience. Another option is to just buy a pre-made unit from local pet store to sit inside the hood.

Yep sponge filter over the inlet. Stretch it, it'll fit. still needs to be rinsed once a week though.

Don't worry about it. I'd wager its algae, hence only growing in one direction. Personally I wouldn't worry about that at all, it will not have a noticable effect. if you want to clean it off you can use a window scraper. I have a cheap one I got for $2 that I use on green spot algae (which is what I think that is). Remember to let the heater cool down before removing it from the water.

It would be good if stores kept the fish in quarantene for at least 3 weeks, but I've not seen any store (that I know of) that does this which is why its recommended to do it yourself before putting them in the main tank. Generally I don't practice any kind of quarantene process but I only pick fish that look very healthy and alive, and avoid tanks with any sign of disease e.g. white spot. I have had the occasional outbreak however, so its not the best plan to rely on fish behaviour, but improves your chances.

So, I've got the new girlfriend interested enough in fish that she has made room for her first tank I'm donating a Jebo R338 (37L) setup to the cause, and have lots of stuff to fill it with. She says she wants fish with attitude. I think it'd be beneficial for her to see them breeding etc too, and was just wondering if anyone had any ideas. I was thinking originally platties and guppies, but they don't really have attitude, so maybe a pair of convicts? pair of kribensis? What do you think? PS yes I know 37L is too small for convicts and kribensis when fully grown, but when they get too big I'll give them a bigger home, and any off spring can be fed to hutt pets or my jag cichlid.

P.S. pH Up and baking soda are the same thing except one is cheaper. To work out dosage I'd take a 1L sample, and slowly add baking soda, when the pH is where you want it, then multiply that by how many litres of water your tank has in it (subtract some for rocks etc), and dose that. Slowly add the soda, going from pH 6.4 to pH 7.2 for example could hurt the fish, try to spread it out over hours and watch for problems. What you are doing is raising the KH, which also affects pH but makes the pH much more stable. Remember to add more baking soda for every bucket/litre of water you remove (but not evaptoration). Check the pH first thing in the morning, and just before bed, see if there is a difference. If it is a pressurised system that is pumping hard, it will affect pH, but if its one of those tablet or yeast systems, I wouldn't worry about that. At 6.4 ammonia wont be a problem, but you should really test for nitrite (not nitrate) and if you've got access to a kit, kH.

Yep.

haha smartass Seriously though, they look like GloFish as Caryl said. www.glofish.com I think is the website. They're GE. Being in the US you have a different range of fish to us in NZ.

At the supermarket in the coffee isle, get the coffee filters. They're very cheap for a pack of ten. Water runs through, but the bright orange brine shrimp builds up in to a paste. Make sure to not put much water weight on the filter as some tend to split open which is a pain in the buttocks. Definately the best way to filter BBS in my opinnion. Nets etc are great but hard to find. Coffee filters are at any supermarket and maybe even some dairies.

Perhaps he'll turn in to a mate for my friend-less Jaguar Cichlid? For the meantime I've just divided their tank up with lots of tall rocks and bits of wood, I've also removed my young convict out of the tank. So this has made life a lot better for the severums. They also tend to hang out in a group of 3 more now which is good as it'll increase my chances of getting a nice pair Looks like 1 boy 2 girls at the moment. Geo is growing very quickly, and so are they. They share a tank with a fire eel who gets bloodworms, which tends to mean they get bloodworms daily as well as a range of other foods on a regular basis and it's certainly doing them good for growth.

Yeah she was describing a chinese algae eater. Always best to go see for yourself, most people don't really know their fish, hence the 'glass kuhli' and 'red danio' problems of late.

I found the fish sold as a 'Saimese Flying Fox' in NZ were always Saimese Algae Eaters. Not sure if this has changed in the last 6 months or so. IMO SAEs are the best of the three. Genuine Flying Fox has a nicer look but can be more aggressive to its own kind, and false siamesis is just a waste of time. I know you haven't made this mistake, but a lot of beginners read these threads, so I must say 'do not get confused with the chinese algae eater'. I hate those things.

I've bred a single female twice in one week, although giving them more time and more food and waiting until she's very fat will lead to more fry.

Thats not a common, thats a redspot Common's are grey, with light grey markings. But definately Kribs + BN are fine.

I found mine ate that powdered fry food you can get from LFS once they'd started free-swimming, if yours are big enough to look like little fish then crumbled flake food would probably be an option. Small amounts as often as possible is the winner.

You can't buffer water down unfortunately, peat can remove some of the buffering, but not brightwater gravel. Sounds like your local guy wasn't as on to it as we'd like. As Caryl said, dont' use ph up or down, its more important that your water has a stable pH. If you get a 'High Range pH' tester it'll tell you the proper result. If it's constantly above 8 you'll certainly have a few problems, but hopefully its 7.6-7.8. Also do the test about 24 hours after a partial water change, because tap water needs time to 'age'.

Hey guys, Have got a single Geo Brasiliensis, around 10cm, living with 3 young gold severums, a fire eel, and a couple of plecs in a 200L 4' tank. Room is plentiful. Anyway the Geo has his little cave but has the habit of chasing the gold severums unnessecarily around, not just away from his area. They havent been bitten, and there is 3 of them, so that splits up any stress problem, but its just unpleasant/annoying to watch. I dont want to get rid of my Geo, but at the same time the gold severums take presedence, so was wondering if getting another couple of Geo Brasiliensis would take the attention away from the gold severums, or would I have a whole new problem, or a worse problem??

AquaOne 55W sounds perfect to me for your setup.

Hey Chris, 8 bulbs is a lot and on a 3 foot tank you may find most of the light just hits other tubes rather than getting in the tank. If you need high lighting you are really going to want to either get a few T5s, or a single hanging metal halide fixture. Having more than approximately 3 bulbs I found tended to give me beard algae, and the only two methods I've found to keep the balance was to use either CO2 continously or flourish excel. Flourish Excel (not normal flourish) is a fantastic product BUT comes with a not so fantastic price. Since using it I'm a total fan-boy now. Hope that helps a little bit Cheerio

Local fish stores should be able to supply the 20W T5's needed, make sure to take an old one in with you though to make sure its the exact length. Animates or Hutt Pets should have them in stock or can order them in. Haven't kept a Sunsun before so can't really help with the water issue. I've never had a problem with any of my setups with water build up in the connectors, so your first task will be to see exactly how its getting there and why it isnt drying off by itself, then shield it off with an appropriate measure. You could also do a bit of kiwi DIY and refit it with waterproof T5 connectors (if thats not what it came with).

Welcome aboard You should meet up with some of the Upper Hutt crew at the next meeting on Thursday night. Lots of great minds there and hopefully free biscuits if we remember http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/upper-hutt-aquarium-society-meeting-this-thursday-vt22064.html

Oh Copper Sulphate, yeah do not use that. If you do use it very diluted with citric acid. I would definately not go to this extreme for algae in an aquarium. Will kill fish sensitive to copper and snails (duh), and if dosed too high will kill everything. I had a very diluted mix I used to use to fight fungus, worked well, but I wouldn't use it in a community tank.