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Yeah that definitely sounds like an infection that needs some treatment. The fact that it happened so fast and that he is showing other symptoms would suggest that he is not well. Keep him isolated and medicated until it clears up. Good luck with the little guy.

When you first start your tank you need to leave it for quite a long time before you add different kinds of fish. I like cherry barbs with neons because the male cherry barbs have the same colour red as the neons. I also like lots of plants with neons because the green plants look BEAUTIFUL with the red and blue. :bounce:

bedazzled, I'm not familiar with albino neons. Does the neon stripe shine just as much as with the 'normal' neons, just white instead of blue?

LOL it's a bit late for you to still be awake isn't it? When I was 10 I was asleep WAY before 9pm. ZzzzZZZzzzZZzzz

Use bottle #2 from your Nitrate test kit to test the various rocks. It is hydrochloric acid so will fizz very obviously if it comes in touch with anything alkaline (try it on a shell just for fun). If it doesn't fizz then your rocks aren't the cause of the different pH.

Olly, when did you first notice his googlie eye? Did it happen suddenly or over a long time? And when you say "he's not too happy" what other symptoms is he displaying?

Oooh what kind of bike adodge? Great time to get a new motorbike - it'll be all ready for the first spring sunshine and you'll be out there on the road! I ride a Suzuki Volty (GN250 in disguise) and my partner has an SV1000S.

My personal preference is to put the bits together myself to suit my own requirements. Check whether the pre-made tank has the flexibility to be changed if you decide you want to (for example) add extra lights or a different kind of filter. Also don't just consider new stuff. Look on on-line auction sites to see if there's stuff there going for a good price.

And remember to insulate! Some polystyrene on the outside of the tank can make a big difference to heat retention.

Another tip if you suspect something is wrong with your heater (or any other tank stuff): Don't put your hand in the water! ALWAYS unplug the suspect appliance before you touch the water. A few years ago I knew a guy who was thrown across the room by a broken heater! While he was at work his tank developed a leak, the water level dropped, the heater cracked when it got exposed. He came in the door after work, saw the mess made by the tank and decided the first thing he had to do was net out his fish. As soon as his hand touched the water, KAPOW! So yeah if you don't take richms' advice and get an RCD, be very, very careful!

Hi & Welcome salmonkid. I have neon tetras (and cardinal tetras which are almost the same). I think they are the most colourful & beautiful fish I have ever kept! Give us a yell if you have any problems with your fish and I'm sure we can help you out.

Oh my goodness! A 25 cm clown loach would be like one of the family! What a dreadful thing to happen!

Oops sorry, I was slow typing my response and missed your next post :roll: You seem to have answered most of my questions. I will just add: when I used the blackout/ algae fix to solve my cloudy water problem, my tank was not registering any nitrite or ammonia. I don't know what effect the algae fix will have on a tank that is apparently cycling. IMO you're not in dangerous territory as long as you keep up those water changes and keep an eye on your fish. I'm also at a loss to know what is going on and will be interested in other suggestions.

An Eheim 2213 should keep up ok if your tank is not over-stocked - what fish do you have in there, and how big are they? Also the questions about cleaning and maintaining the filter are important. Sometimes people see a bit of a change and take drastic action like giving their filter a really thorough clean - and then find they have killed off the good greeblies and that makes things worse. I had a green cloudy water problem recently (my first time in many years of fish-keeping). I'm pretty certain the cause was the kiwifruit I put in the tank! :lol: The fish really devoured it but my goodness what a mess! I ended up using the blackout + algae fix method and the problem has not recurred. Have you changed anything about your feeding regime recently? eg the brand, quantity, or the person in the house who's doing the feeding? If you have kids, this might be a good time to remind them about not over-feeding, and that the fish don't get fed every time they come up to the glass and gaze longingly at you.

Good idea for a thread, Simian. As you said the same questions come up over and over again so it will be nice to have a standard guide we can point people to. I have a question: You have explained what the colour numbers on the tubes mean in a technical sense, but what do they mean in a practical sense? For example if I want to grow plants, or show off my fish to their best advantage, how do these numbers apply?

Hmmm... now that's a puzzle. It's very encouraging to see you've been reading up on the subject and understand what's going on though - congratulations on an excellent start! Could you first please give us some more information to go on: - What size is your tank? - What kind of filter are you using (and what media is in it)? - What kind of fish do you have (and how many, and how long have they been in there)? - If using tap water for your water changes, are you using a chlorine remover? Those are all the relevant questions I can think of that might shed a little light on the matter. Hopefully your answers to one or more of them might give us a clue about what is going on with your tank. Oh, I almost forgot... WELCOME! :bounce:

Denny didn't have a blow-up Shirley, he had a RealDoll Shirley. Very important distinction.

Awww I forgot that the person doing the work has the power of veto :-? It's definitely going to be a stunning setup. I can't wait to see the next stage of progress. :bounce:

In Auckland in July it rained 27 days out of 31. And some of that was very heavy rain. I'm sick of it I tell you :roll:

Just looking at your pics again, lighting is definitely going to be essential to your success with plants. It looks like your tank is quite deep, so less light will be getting to the bottom of the tank and the plants there may suffer. Also plants with red leaves need way more light than green ones so you may find the red plant won't survive. When you get a chance, can you take a look at the tubes you have, and post here all the printing that is on them? That will tell us the wattage and the spectrum of the tubes and we will be better able to advise what kinds of plants will grow best in your tank.

Virgil, I would leave the tank for a while before adding anything extra for the plants. They will need to get settled, get sorted out into their submersed (under-the water) form, and grow a few roots. If you start adding nutrients and the plants die back a bit, you might end up with too much nutrient in the water and you'll get all kinds of algae and stuff. The exception would be slow-release fertiliser tabs that you put under the substrate at the same time as you plant your plants. If you're going to use those, then you can put them in early. Everything else that's going into the water (eg liquid ferts, CO2, etc.) is better to wait until your plants are ready to use them.

Oh my goodness. You rarely see a tank looking that good! I had to read back through the entire thread to see how many cardinal & neon tertras you had - about 50ish (combined) back in April. What a dream tank!

ok now I'm REALLY going to cause trouble! Did you consider turning the wood 90 degrees so the large trunk part is horizontal and the branchy-bits are vertical? Then have the trunk partially buried in the substrate. To me that would be more aesthetically pleasing - it's obviously a personal opinion and I would be interested in other peoples' opinions. Hey team, let's design Zabman's tank by committee - we'll have the ideas and he can do all the work! :lol:

Excellent! I'm looking forward to following your blog, Zabman. *Settles down with a cup of coffee to wait for the next instalment* Ok now I'm going to put a spanner in the works: If that piece of driftwood is not sinking now, it may take many years before it sinks of its own accord. I would suggest a more permanent solution for weighting it down such as rocks or slate. Do it now while you're first setting it up because you'll never get this chance again! I had a big bit of driftwood (not as big as yours) that "almost" sank - it kind of floated mid-water with just one end poking out above the water. I thought it was pretty close to sinking so I put it in the tank and piled rocks on it. Two years later I bumped the rocks while I was cleaning the tank and the driftwood flew up to the surface! Some wood really doesn't want to sink! So I would suggest you tie some large, angular rocks to the base of your wood and expect them to stay there for the duration. For anyone else doing this kind of setup, I would suggest that the wood is the first thing that goes in the tank, before the substrate. Then build up the substrate around the base of the wood. It gives the wood a more integrated look - as if it's just been uncovered from the riverbed, rather than just sitting on top.

That's the stuff! I just googled it and came back here! :lol: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/plant_survey/aq ... 94d498e67e