ocean4freedom

I think they look great too, and would look stunning in a black-lit tank in a night club or something, but it still worries me that people are inserting genes into fish- genes that are not intended to be there. If memory serves me right, these fish were from adding a jelly fish gene to the mix. I might be wrong on the source, but the point remains that we don't really know that much about all the gene sequences in any animal(we've only mapped the human genome and a few insects), so adding a bit here may lead to some nasty mutation if the fish spawned with something else. Ya, it sounds kinda paranoid but just something to think about. But if the gene sequence has been heavily tested ...

Ya, the flash made it really bright, but couldn't take the pic last night Looks much more subdued in reality and cuz its the same colour as the wall it looks a bit like an in-wall setup. Ya, there are two tanks on top - a small 15L on the left and a 50L on the right Oh and the reason its painted rather than stained/varnished is cuz the top is one piece and doesn't look good enough "nude" :lol:

Well after a number of weeks of thinking of designs, strength analysis by my Step-Dad (cheers, mate!) and 2 busy weeks of putting it all together and painting (Thanks for your help, babe!), I have finally succeeded in getting a frame completely set up for my tank! :bounce: My 250L tank now has a painted white frame around it, supporting a 50L and a 15L tank on top. In actual fact it could probably take another 250L on top instead of the smaller ones (it was intentionally built really strong 8) ), but this set up allows for three different tanks. Anyway, some pics: The tank The inhabitants of the 250L: Caesar the baby Oscar Draco the baby Firemouth Dunno about anyone else but I'm pleased!

Is it just me or do they vaguely remind people of tiny rainbow trout?

Stunning! I hope they get over here soon. As for MAF, they'll probably spoil our fun :roll:

No real need for it to be in there, really. Its been stable at 25/26 for about 2 years! Well, until last night... :roll:

Well last night my girl and I came home from a good productive day to find that the heater had gone ape-$hit and pushed the temp of my community tank to above 30 :evil: (didn't have a thermometer in there but it was like bath water ). My girl and I did high speed water changes (carefully of course) and also dumped a sealled bag of frozen peas into the water. After a frantic 20 minutes, the temp was down to a decent level and the damage could be assessed. Suffice to say that I lost 2 kuhli loaches, 2 kribs (in full breeding colours and jealously guarding eggs) and nearly a third krib (who seems to be back to normal this morning but very lonely) Funny thing was that the two siamese fighter females thought this new temp was excellent and my dwarf gouramis were quite happy too. My red spot pleco just looked at me and sighed before nibbling on a pleco chip! :roll: Fortunately (if thats the right word) I had just swapped the tanks so had put my oscar and firemouth into the other tank or I would have lost them instead. But you can't really compare... All in all a helluva stressful afternoon, but everyone's stable again. I'm glad we came home when we did...

As this is a beginner forum, I'll pretend you don't know a huge amount about this Definitely be sure not to have gravel that is too big for the size fish you have. If you have some really big fish then obviously the size of gravel is irrelevant, but if you have smaller fish or fry then you need to have smaller gravel to ensure that, firstly they don't get stuck between the gravel and secondly that you don't create pockets where food and fish waste can accumulate and decomnpose - causes major havoc with your water parameters! :evil: Just as an aside, never switch off an undergravel filter as the bacteria that thrive there will all die and it will basically create the same thing as above. I had a tank with beautiful river pebbles in it when I first got into fish-keeping. Over the course of a few weeks I lost about 6 small platties until I realise that they were getting stuck between the rocks and dying there.

Okay- this is a totally gratuitous start of a debate! 8) So which is better for your fish and why? I'm personally keen on the fresh food since I know where the food has been and wont feed a worm/fly/fish if its looking unhealthy. What does everyone else think?

I can imagine - my girl knows that excuse! Lets just hope your BF doesn't find the forum and read our posts!

Go for fully submersible heaters. Jebo are pretty good and if you can fork out a few extra $$$ go for stainless steel ones rather than glass - sounds over-kill when you start out but those glass ones just LOVE hitting against rocks (or being hit against them, courtesy of a nosey/bored Oscar!) :lol:

Could quite easily be. Stress from being chased around added to the stress of being wounded and possibly having an infection? All adds up to the fish going to the "great big tank in the Amazon" Its always sad to lose a fish, even if they die from "old age" But if the angels go then there will be more space for other little critters

I love it! Gotta print that out! :lol:

I swear by electical tape! Just switch off the filter and dry up the sides (I'm thinking you have a canister filter with clips?) then tape it up until the next day

I guess you could almost run a dencent heavy duty extension lead across and label the house plug with "DO NOT SWITCH OFF" Ya, heating the shed would be pretty easy (heat-pump sounds like a great idea) but the mid-summer sun... But if you make a really good shed with full insulation, then you get more heat retention in winter and less over-heating in summer. Of course the $$$ issue arises Oh, what fun we could all have with limitless fish budgets... 8) :bounce:

The sanding is all completed and it should be painted this evening. Pics to come soon!

Sorry to hear about your fish. As for the fins, I'd place the blame firmly with the angelfish. What many people miss when they see these stunning fish is that these are Cichlids and thus really need to be in a cichlid only tank or with fish that are bigger and/or as aggressive. Those nice long fighter fins must have been too temping. :roll: I'd advise to find either the angels or the guppies a new home... My fighter lost most of his fins about a year ago from a fish getting past the tank divider :evil: But he's all well again and his fins are back. I'd always separate wounded fish from the rest of the tank the moment you notice it and put some wound meds in their tank - I'm a big fan of Melafix, but it is rather pricey. Good luck and the forum is always open for random questions, even if you may think they are silly!

Hi folks, A few weeks ago I moved in with my lovely lady and of course brought along my three tanks, a 250L, a 50L and a 15L. We ended up with the 250L in the lounge/bedroom with the 15L next to it (the lounge is the biggest, brightest room in the house and she has her art room in the other bedroom - Works well and a much shorter walk to the fridge for midnight icecream :lol: ). The 50L went into the kitchen. After being told it looks rather "messy" with the tanks all over the flat, I made a plan... This was how the tank was before (sorry, not a photo but still accurate!) With a bit of playing with a 3D design program (the computer geek in me coming out... 8) ) I came up with this design to sort out the whole issue, as well as sneakily setting up a situation to get some planes of glass I bought ages ago made into a new tank . This is the design now: I would have liked to do the old photo-step-by-step post but sadly my camera is in some box and can't be dug out yet. (Fish stuff first, then find the camera - not sure if those are misguided priorities! ) I have now completed the frame and just need to round off all the edges and give it a good coat of paint. I'll post some more pics when I'm completely done and can find my camera

That's getting closer but still not quite what I remember! But then again, exactly what do I remember?! :lol: I think I'll take the advice and next time just buy it if it intrigues me and find out what it is when its back at home! :roll: (but will my girl forgive me for bringing another fish home ... )

Sorry Blue, meant to reply to ya but got sidetracked :oops: The perils of trying to post to the forum while "working" at the office! When I went into Animates on the weekend there was only an Albino oscar and this mysterious bottom feeder in the tank. I'm sure that it wasn't a albino bristlenose, since I saw them when I got the lotus from Blue last week (growing very well, btw!) and would know them by sight - Seriously cute! 8) I guess the one I saw has disappeared. I was offered it for $35 on the day, so maybe I should have snapped it up then ... oh well.

I don't think so. Problem is that with all the photos I've looked at (and all the PM's - cheers fishy people! ) I'm starting to not really remeber the fish too well! I'm sure I'll see the fish again some time and go "Ah, finally found the &$*# thing!"

I'm pretty sure it wasn't one of those either - the stripes were much wider! Hmmm .... Still no luck looking on PlanetCatfish.com!

Damn nice looking covers! Excellent work!

I thought it had more of clown loach body shape, but more elongated. Sadly, it wasn't one of the ones above! Hmmm ... the mystery continues...

Ya, i've seen that one and its a great fish, but there is another in the same tank as the oscar that is a distinct yellow colour with black stripes. I spent ages looking through www.catfishplanet.com but had no luck finding it . Any one seen it and have any ideas?