SpidersWeb

Welcome along Good luck with your WCMM! Just wait until you start heating your tanks, then a whole new world appears We've recently just gone over 2000 litres of heated water. Upside is we dont need any heaters in the house! Its always cozy. hehe

I wouldn't go as far to call it 'art' :lol: , its more of a fad (if it was art everyone's txt speak would be different). But yeah doesn't bother me if it's easy to read, and even if it's hard to read I'll make the effort for good info. To be honest the real killer is the folks who don't paragraph or punctuate. Haven't seen any problems on here with that, but on a few other forums I use it gets bad.

Dwarf Sag grass sounds exactly like what you're after. It likes strong lighting but doesn't get too big, has pointy leaves, and is a nice bright green. Spreads rapidly via runners if you have good lighting (and maybe CO2) http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_subulata.php

If I lived in Petone or Tawa I'd pop down, but in the interest of avoiding the 20 min each way trip, I found a site that said to use 8 tablespoons per gallon (3.8L), so I put a litre of water in a bucket and put in 4 tablespoons of rock salt, the java moss, and stirred (not shaken) (I know thats double). Hopefully I dont buzz my moss too much. Gonna leave it for 10 minutes then clean out the old tank, rinse the moss, set it up and see if I get any snails. Fingers crossed, if I had more than ten bucks I'd just buy 'Snail Rid'. On another note, my artificially raised Kribensis are almost free swimmers yey Got the brine shrimp hatchery started up.

For the record, there isn't any fish or anything in this tank, its just Java Moss and some pond snails, so no need to worry, worst case scenario is I lose my Java Moss. There is about 5 tablespoons of rock salt mixed in with about 20L of water @ 30C and a double dose of Masterpet Sterliser. I haven't added any more salt yet, and its just as easy to 'bath' the moss in the tank than it is to use a bucket with the added bonus of getting the guys on the glass. Its only a small tank and very easy to completely drain. There are still adult snails happily crawling about, I'm not going to squash them because I kind of need them to know when I"m succesful. (Edit: not as many snails as before, but there is still a few) How much salt would I need to get saltwater strength? and roughly how long? 20 minutes? Reason I'm doing it this way is that the moss is riddled with tiny snails I can barely see, and I'd hate to have them grow bigger on future danio eggs Thanks for the help Alan

Thanks Alan I'd already dosed the tank with a lot of rock salt, guess I just need to keep on loading it up until everything is dead. Have a very fat pearl danio, and really want to move her as soon as possible in to this new tank as she's been hounded by 4 males and being the type of fish she is, she'll just lay them in the community tank again :evil: :evil: so in a bit of a rush lol Thanks Glenn, unfortunately as mentioned I dont want to have to buy anything. Salt I can do though I put in Masterpet Sterliser which I assumed would kill hydra? maybe not, didn't hurt the snails, but really I have no reason to beleive there would be any at all as this moss was pulled from a tank with gouramis, and the tank is a tiny bare bottom.

I've got a large bunch of Java Moss with pond snails in it and I want to use this as a breeding platform for danios. I dont have any Snail-Rid or Copper Sulfate etc and dont really want to buy any. The tank is bare bottom so its easy to get rid of those snails, its just the ones in the moss. I was thinking I could dip the Java Moss in really hot water for 10 minutes? Just not sure if the Java Moss would handle that ok?? Maybe a hard-core salt dip? Any ideas welcome Would prefer something that takes minutes rather than days tho. I've poured in a double dose of Masterpet Stereliser, and about a tablespoon of rock salt (20L water), just to make things difficult for the meantime, just not sure if that is actually going to kill the snails or not and their eggs.

Neither. Order in a Siamese Algae Eater (NOT to be confused with Chinese Algae Eater), looks like a flying fox but is better at algae consumption, only need one. I have heard Otto's are wild caught, and I hear they are quite delicate to water conditions. The otto's are known to be much much better thread algae eaters, but they're always tiny in the stores and so fragile (apparently). If I had to chose between your two, I'd go with the flying fox, its cheap, hopefully does the job, and easy to keep. If it doesn't do the job, you're only out $14. SAEs are about $25 I think, but when you order them they're quite small. Most planted tank owners I've met use the SAE for thread algae, and bristlenose or plec for regular algae. Wish there was a fish that ate that green spot algae hmmph

Still tho, AR980 aside, having your own fishroom is pretty sweeeeeeet

haha nice Speaking of which, I have Kribensis bub...err... fry, about 30 wrigglers.

The fish make fun of him behind is back :lol: :-? Those evil lil so-in-so's.

lol oh nice

Oh yeah I forgot, thanks evil, Flourish Excel works in the same way the CO2 does, both are methods of getting carbon to your plants, so Flourish Excel is a good way to help reduce hair algae by increasing plant growth without providing extra food/light for the algae.

BBA is an ass. Its caused basically by imbalance. In an estbalished aquarium the plants will suck up the excess nutrient before the algae has a chance. As soon as the algae has a chance, it'll pop its head up. Thread algae likes to grow where there is water flow and its close to the lights, so plant leaves and filter pipes etc are common homes. First think about that wood you have in your tank. Is it actual driftwood or is it rotting? I put in a cool stump in my tank, and within weeks I had thread algae taking over the tank, it was rotting and providing a lot of excess nutrient. Also do a large water change to reduce the available nutrient, and clean out the gravel etc. Second, instead of fighting the excess nutrient you can have your plants use it instead. To do this you'll need CO2 and possibly stronger lighting. Thirdly, get a siamese algae eater, they love it and will eat it like a cheesecake at The View. I've also heard the more commonly available Flying Fox works too but it seems 50/50 with regards to those who say they do and those who say they dont. Do not confuse the SAE with the chinese algae eater which doesn't eat thread algae and will suck on to your fish like lollipops. If you wish to do the latter, I've made a system for under $30 that gets my plants pearling I am using 5 T8 fluoros though.

Echinodorus Red Special: plant grown emersed Echinodorus Red Special flower Hope this helps. This actually isn't HTML (HTML is more like etc), its called BBCode and it has been simplifed for use on messageboards. What you is put either side of the image URL. e.g. [img=http://your.link.here/image.jpg] and the image will appear in your thread Direct uploading of images requires additional third party software, more bandwidth, disk space etc just easier if people upload using third party sites. I recommend http://www.photobucket.com, you can setup a photo album and under each picture it has a little text you can copy'n paste in to any website forum and it'll make the image appear (instead of typing it manually). Alternatively you can just paste the URL to a page that has the image on it.

lol freshwater!

You can buy products like 'Snail Rid'. Not sure how good they are. We have pond snails breeding and living in most of our cannister filters. I'd say either boiling gravel etc or chemical treatment is the only way. I leave mine in the cannisters because the adults come out, I pick them up, and feed them to our oscars who think they're the best thing since beef-heart. They're harmless unless you're trying to raise fish eggs. They help consume excess food and algae, and dont eat your plants. If you really dont want them, I'd say try chemical treatment. The big big snails are the guys that cause problems eating plants etc.

Dont forget to pour boiling water over it. Only takes a second and you'll prevent any hitchhikers.

Dont forget the 'Silver Shark' (which is what I thought this thread was about :oops: ), totally different fish. Red Tailed Sharks etc dont even look remotely like Sharks, silly name really. I'm not a big fan, love the looks, but their needlessly territorial at times. If you were thinking of the Silver Shark they like to be kept in groups (dont HAVE to be though), and are friendly but the downside is they grow big, often jump if they get a fright, and need a bit of room. There is no actual shark available for freshwater. Just nicknames to different types of fish.

Hey jn, Those all-in-one tanks are a fantastic way to get started. White clouds are a strong fish, and (unlike goldfish) very clean, so I'd suggest just putting your white clouds straight in. They're a good candidate for use as a cycling fish anyway, and the cycling process isn't quite as big a deal as many think. As long as you're aware that its going on, and try not to amplify it too much e.g. overfeeding, adding too many fish at once, or adding delicate fish, then you shouldn't have a problem. Your plants from the pond will seed your tank and start the cycle on its way. If you're doing weekly 20% water changes and there isn't piles of food on the tank floor, then ammonia or nitrite poisioning is unlikely. The poop from the WCMM will be your fertiliser for the most part, if the plants need any (most plants are easy going, so unlikely) you'll start seeing holes in leaves, brown leaves etc, dont worry they'll let you know. WCMMs dont mind being in groups, so more than 5 shouldn't be a problem. Dont put 20 in on the first day or anything but once the tank has settled, you could probably add quite a few, start with 5 or so and see how it goes. I've seen pet stores use the little 25L tanks as WCMM display tanks before.

Congrats 8) I had a similar experience two weeks ago. Got a community tank where I haven't seen a platy baby for months (angels, kribs etc), anyway I moved some plants out, dropping them on a tea saucer which I carried in to another room, planted the plants etc, then on cleanup found a litty baby Platy in the bottom of the tea saucer in about 1mm of water haha lucky little dude is in my 3ft grow out tank now doing well. Might have to start taking him to the lotto shop.

lol discus in a 200 litre, not trout haha Anyway I run a Jebo 810 on one of my 200L tanks and it keeps it super clean, but for only $50 extra you can get the 819 which is: a) huge b) has 7 or 8 media trays (cant remember) and INCLUDES THE MEDIA c) is quieter than your grandma d) comes with heaps of piping e) pumps 1200L/hr, and it doesn't slow down like crazy, only time I've seen them with reduced flow was when my 810 was picking up sand, and that was on that tank for 3 or more months. f) Unlike some other brands water MUST go through the filter media, it doesn't let water slip by and come out as unfiltered. g) You can get spare parts like any other brand if you need them, just like any other brand, and often repairing a broken Eheim can cost more than a new Jebo. AFAIK another option similar to the Jebo 819 is the AquaOne CF1200 which I've only heard good things about as well. The latter I've never used but its in the same price range and is often easier to find. I have not had a single piece of Jebo equipment fail on me ever (altho other peeps had problems with the high wattage heaters). Jebo 819 or 815 would be suitable for your situation. For the record the only Fluval I've had was the 404, and never had an Eheim, but the reason I'm so passionate about these Jebo/AquaOnes is because I've never heard or seen anything that would make me want to spend an extra $20, let alone double the price! Fluvals start at $299 for the 105 (or is that the 205?) which is comparable to the Jebo 810 ($139). The exception to which is the Fluval FX5 which is worth the $549+ cost. (Filter list I have here: Jebo 819 x 2, Jebo 810, Shark APV400, Shark APV800 x 2, AquaOne 1200L/hr internal, 1000L/internal, 400L/internal, Jebo all-in-one tank, Jebo 510 HOB). For the record I dont recommend AquaOne internals, but they're so cheap compared, Sharks work a lot better.

I'm a bit late on this topic, but what I do (and it has always worked for me), is take one or more handfuls of gravel from the top of a well circulated area, and mix it in with the new noodles. Taking a handful of bio-noodles out of the old one would do the same. Never lost any fish doing it this way, from platy fry to oscars, and on brand new tanks with brand new gravel etc. I've used this technique with all kinds of filters including all-in-one tanks, external canisters and hang on the back filters, but can be a PITA with most internals. Some of my filters still have the gravel in them, as I use it as backup ceramic noodles sometimes when I dont have any spare. The small (probably unmreasurable) ammonia spike that occurs allows the good bacteria to multiply like crazy. Note not to feed them heaps for the first week though (but make sure to feed them something because you need that ammonia to feed the bacteria!!). Putting the gravel in the filter itself is a lot more effective than the old 'place a bag in the tank' method.

You can also buy fine fry food, and liquid fry food (not the best but they get to eat), or alternatively frozen brine shrimp if your local fish store stocks it (most do). Freshly hatched brine shrimp are definately the best though Serve them when orange (just before they go white) if you can.

You will get much much better results by making your own air powered hatchery (two soda bottles, a tiny air pump and some air hose) and keeping it in a warmish place.