whetu

1825 x 600 x 600 will be a beautiful tank... oooh and planted... and discus! A dream tank alright! Brody, I admire you doing this one step at a time! It's too easy to get all carried away with excitement and rush things! One thought: perhaps look at a full range of cannister filter systems before you finalise your tank design. Think about what space you will need under the tank in order to fit the biggest cannister in, while still allowing room to access it for maintenance. Also think about where all the hoses will go, how much space you will need behind the tank, how you will keep all the workings out of sight, etc. Have fun dreaming about it all - dreaming is almost as much fun as the real thing! :bounce:

Fishoe, your two fluvals will be fine for a start. Looking at your other thread (where you are looking for fish to keep in the tank) you are likely to be starting with a small school of some kind of hardy fish. As long as you start cautiously and stock the tank slowly, you will be fine to start off with the fluvals - then later you can consider upgrading if you need to. Setting up a tank can be quite expensive at first, so I would suggest sticking with what you have and using your money to buy other gear if needed. Have fun setting up your tank - it makes me jealous when I see someone starting from scratch... the possibilities are endless!

Caryl, I love the idea of a tank in the hospice! So calming and gentle - and nobody can claim to be allergic to fish hair! :lol: I second the idea of cherry barbs. They are colourful and active, and compatible with virtually any other community fish later, when you upgrade the tank. My male cherry barbs are always busy flaring their fins at each other and making quite a spectacle of themselves, and the females are pretty with their stripes, too. I am told cherry barbs are the least nippy of all barbs. I cannot give an informed comment as none of the barbs I have kept have ever been nippy. Perhaps a school of 9 or 10 cherry barbs, a similar school of danios for the top layer of the tank, and a couple of beautifully ugly bristlenoses for the bottom? Then a variety of pretty plants and some attractive drift wood. Lovely. I only wish I was down your way to help set it all up and look after it. This would really be a worthwhile project.

Olly, can you post a pic of the female so we can see her symptoms first hand? Also, what are the water parameters in the tank? Do you have test kits or can you take a sample to the shop for testing? Since the male started getting sick after a water change, I would suggest that you also test a sample of your tap water. In that pic of your male, is that a paua shell in the foreground? If so (and if there are any other shells in the tank) it could be a high pH issue. Good luck with your female. I hope she makes it.

Thanks all. I am using the recommended daily dose of Flourish, squirting it directly onto the algae. Because the infestation is quite localised and quite new, I'm hoping the recommended dose will work and I won't have to resort to double dosing. I think I can see a difference already but maybe it's just wishful thinking! :-? By the way, I tried to get a Siamese Algae Eater from Animates in Mt Eden but the first assistant I talked to had never heard of them. the second guy had heard of them but didn't think they ever had them in stock... hmmm... Hopefully the Flourish Excel will work and I won't have to go looking for an SAE.

Please take care to acclimatise if you are moving fish between tanks with very different pH levels. I had an unfortunate loss of a male betta - almost certainly a direct result of moving him to a tank with a crazy high pH. I acclimatised him over a couple of hours but it obviously wasn't enough.

Oh I'm kind of a little bit disappointed that it came off... I have been following this thread with interest and visualising all the crazy contortions FarmChick would have to go through if she followed all your suggestions... meanwhile her fishies are over there laughing at her... :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: Marvellous idea. Will ask her for a striped one with a pompom on top.

Funny how algae appears everywhere you don't want it, then when you do want it you can't grow it?! :lol: Yeah some old tank water in a spare tank (or just a glass bowl or jar) with some nice smooth river stones will do the trick. Put it in full sun outside, or in a sunny window inside the house. If you have a random extra tank light that should also give it a boost. Have fun growing algae! Oh BTW I also never cook the courgette. I just drop it in and everyone seems happy. They eat the soft middle bit first then work their way out to the skin, but it all gets eaten in the end.

Aha! So it's us and our tanks causing the power crisis! Please... nobody tell the government or we'll be outlawed dwalk, am I correct that a Fluval 205 is an external cannister filter? If so, I wonder if you would consider adding another week to your experiment. After the tank is fully insulated and you are satisfied that your results are steady, could you insulate the filter and hoses for a week and see if that makes any difference? Perhaps you could just throw a towel over the cannister and maybe wrap something around the hoses... like bubble wrap or something. I run two eheim pro II cannister filters on my tank. By the time the water comes out of the tank, goes down the hose (which is against a cold wall) circulates in the cannister (which is on a cold floor) then goes back up the hose into the tank, it has probably lost several degrees in temperature. Doing that a few times an hour would probably have quite an effect on the overall tank temp. What do you think?

Interesting question, Gill. I've just discovered my main tank has a pH of 6.0 despite my tap water being 7.6 or something crazy. The only thing I can think of is the driftwood in the tank, even though it has been in there for many years so I would have thought any effect it had on the water would be reduced by now. You say you have other tanks that you fill with the same tap water, but only this one has the low pH... by a process of elimination can you work out what the difference is between the different tanks... substrate? decor? filter media? any additives (plant ferts etc)? I will be interested to know what results you get.

geoff, if you don't have the test kits at home to test for ammonia and nitrite, then take a sample of water to the shop where you bought the fish and ask them to test it for you (they should do the tests for free). Also don't put any more fish in the tank until this problem has been sorted out, or you'll probably have the same result. Good luck to you and the rest of your fish - I hope you don't have any more losses

Brad, my test kit is pretty old so that might be an issue, but it got the same high reading as the one at the shop so I'm assuming it's pretty accurate. I have measured the pH in the Q tank again since then and it has stayed at 6.0 (according to my old test kit). I will do a small water change each day, using water from the main tank, to make sure everything stays the same. Then even if my test kit isn't particularly accurate, at least I will know the parameters are identical to the big tank where the fish will soon be living (all going well).

I went to Animates in Mt Eden the other day and the girl was telling me about a big clown loach that just turned 25. I said "is that Sweety" and she said "yes, do you know Sweety?!" It seems she's a bit of a celebrity. So where are those photos of her wearing her party hat then? :lol:

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Now I have (unintentionally) brought the quarantine tank pH down to 6.0 I will keep it there by adding water from the main tank - that way when I transfer the new fish to the main tank I will know they have been living in identical conditions. Dixon, interesting you should mention the cardinals. I didn't transfer them to the main tank (as Matthew said, that rather defeats the purpose) but as soon as the pH went down to 6.0 they perked up. Their colour has gone WAY brighter. I thought they were dull because of the stress of bringing them home from the shop but now I realise what a difference the pH makes to them. Tsarmina, we don't have a gas heater anywhere, but the Q tank is in the kitchen and we do use gas for cooking. Do you think that could make a difference to pH? The main tank is in the living room where the only source of heat is the fireplace. Matthew, the main tank has driftwood which I guess is bringing the pH down and buffering it. I'm surprised it's doing such a good job though, because it's old wood that has been in the tank for many years and there is no visible tannin staining in the water. I suppose I was confused between pH and hardness. Somehow I thought... low pH = soft water = few dissolved minerals so not much buffering high pH = hard water = lots of dissolved minerals so lots of buffering But since changing 10% of the water resulted in such a dramatic pH drop, my 6.0 water must be way better buffered than my 7.something water. :-? :-?

I think this probably has the same effect as some of the other suggestions - basically do something to upset the routine, change the dominance pattern and reduce territorial behaviour. Rearranging the tank decor can often help with territorial fish - they all have to re-establish their territory at the same time as the new guys, so everyone is on more of an even footing (if "footing" is the right word to use with fish). So maybe some combination - leave the tank lights off, add some extra plants or decor (or rearrange what's already there) make sure everyone gets fed so it's not a hunger issue, and watch carefully to see what happens. As a last resort, keep a net and bags handy in case you have to return the fish.

Yeah brightwater gravel is my favourite. Dark but not black - more of a dark charcoal colour. My perfect substrate would be a layer of Dalton's aquatic soil, followed by a layer or brightwater fine gravel, with a bit of pure laterite mixed in with the gravel. Shows the fish off perfectly, clown loaches can have fun digging (without stirring up clouds of sand), plants thrive in it...

Doesn't pumice float? I'm confused!

My oldest clown loaches (HatuPatu, Loopy and Coco) are about seven years old. Just youngsters in comparison to some other clowns.

I'm going to show my fish this photo and tell them to stop complaining about the state of their cabling...

Isn't the bloat treatment for cows to stab them in the tummy with a sharp knife? Hope that's not the plan for fish!

I just had an unfortunate incident with a male betta. Brought him home with several other new fish (barbs & cardinals), put him in my newly set up Q-tank, acclimatised them all over a couple of hours, added filter media from my established tank, then let them all out of their bags into the Q-tank before going to bed. Thought I had done everything right. 24 hours later the betta was dead. I took his poor little lifeless body and a sample of water from the Q-tank back to the shop for testing. They found no ammonia or nitrites, but the pH was off their scale - at least 7.6 maybe higher! Poor little fishie... I feel so bad that I didn't test the pH before putting him in. :oops: When I got home I tested everything again (my test kit only measures 6.0 - 7.6). Results: Q-tank 7.6 (or higher) Tap water 7.6 (or higher) Main tank 6.0 (or lower) My main tank has driftwood which I know lowers pH... but why such a drastic difference? Anyway I was feeling really sorry for the cardinals so I did a 10% water change on the Q-tank, using water from my main tank. Suddenly the pH of the Q-tank dropped to about 6.2! What's going on here?! How can a 10% water change make that much difference to the pH?! And how can I stabilise everything so the pH doesn't do these crazy swings from a tiny water change?

Yes the 3-for-2 deal happens every week, but 20% off on top of that doesn't! I haven't heard of the aqua fun days - will that happen at every store? By then my new fish will be out of quarantine and in the main tank... so the Q-tank will be ready for more new fishies! Hooray!

Ok now I'm really confused... after doing some reading, I thought the cottonmouth was caused by a bacteria rather than a fungus. I originally assumed it was a fungus because of the fluffy look, but Shirley Sharpe (see link below) tells me: 1) The proper name for the disease is Flexibacter columnaris 2) It is often mistaken for a fungal infection because of its mold-like lesions... Columnaris is a common bacterial infection... Link: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disea ... mnaris.htm I have never had this disease before (nor have my fish!) so I really can't work out what to do for the best...

Oh my goodness that's a scary photo! *runs and checks all plugs* Just a reminder to anyone who doesn't already know, electricity and water don't mix! So always make sure you have a 'drip loop' in the cord if the plug is lower than the tank water. Most aquarium heaters come with a diagram of a drip loop in the instructions. The short description is: leave a loop of cord hanging below the power point, so if any water runs down the cord it will drip off, instead of running into the power point. I know this wasn't the problem in the original post, but just thought it would be a good time to remind people of electrical safety issues. My partner just about has kittens every time he sees me playing with live electricity around my fish tank! :lol: