Lady-Lene

Update ... Angel no better. Feeding normally, looking healthy except for the gill. Not so swollen but still meaty looking and hanging out from under the gill cover. Still treating with Melafix but does not seem to be improving. I hope she is not in pain.

Lost the Gourami - my first loss since getting new tank. Water parameters are all reading fine, filter finally going correctly (had baskets in the wrong order). All other fish are healthy and fine. I have no idea what happened to her. Maybe it was just old age? I'm checking pH, nitrites, kH etc 3 times a day though just in case. Thanks for your help anyway Bill

HOW EASY DOES THAT SOUND !!!! Yup - its OK to laugh - thats why I shared .... gotta laugh or ya end up crying :lol: LOL - I'll try to remember that next time Caryl

Gannet - you betta be kidding me!

Aquarium Dude - AquaOne 2400 does not have taps! Has two little screw in caps up by the inlet and outlet hoses (at top of tank) and you are supposed to unscrew them to let air in and release pressure. This stops them from syphoning (I know that now) :lol:

Whilst doing a water change this morning on my 400 ltr tank I decided to pull apart my new AquaOne 2400 (been going only 4 days) to add some carbon. (Please note this is the first time I have pulled it apart). :-? I turned it off, unlocked the top … yes you know where this is going … I congratulated myself on how easy it came off (coz it was hard to get on when assembling it) but only for a split second …. that is until water started gushing out. I (not wanting my hubby to see this) tried to press back down on the top … still gushing …. oooh needs more weight ... so I stood on top of it … still gushing …. in fact now with the pressure on … it is fully squirting out, all over my sofa, back into the cupboard with all the electrical plugs in it. I jump down and desperately try to shield the flow of water onto the plugs with my body (one of those times when I would have rejoiced in a few more pounds – 50 kilos doesn’t cover much). Common sense then took over and I began to yell … ‘hubby’ … no answer, ‘hubby’ (louder) …… H E L P (full scream). Hubby never came (just as well coz the shock would have been too much for him as by now there is about 50 litres of water on the floor) but son-in-law heard from garage, daughter heard from outside and both came running. Amazing how fast the mind figures out (why didn’t I think of it before) that I was supposed to unscrew the little caps on top of intake out outlet hoses to let air in to stop the tank from siphoning. By the time the caps are unscrewed there is at least 100 ltrs of water all over my lounge carpet, my sofa is soaked, plugs are soaked, I am soaked, air pump is gurgling, 3 year old granddaughter is panicked, daughter in law is having braxton hicks contractions (she pregnant), son-in-law is laughing and still no sign of my wonderfully helpful husband! Every towel in the house is now in the laundry, dehumidifier is whirring away madly. Lesson learnt! (the hard way as usual). On the bright side - quickest water change I've ever done .... Sooo …. how was your morning?

Thanks for your reply Bill. Yes she is in the quarantine tank by herself. Her gills don't appear inflamed at all and there is no redness. But this morning she looks a little bit scaly (white) on top of her head. Not whitespot or even fungusy looking. Just like white scales. Its possible she always looks like that! You know when you stare at something long enough it looks odd! I've probably spent too much time ogling her :lol: She is not 'flashing' or scraping herself on things apart from the odd time (like twice a day), when she thrashes around (which lasts about 10 seconds). I saw her do it in the main tank two days ago. I had two blue gouramis in quarantine (new) waiting to be added to the main tank so when I put them in I withdrew the Pearl and quarantined her. I change 50% of the water daily in the quarantine tank and the water conditions are good. No amonia, pH 7.0, nitrites 0. I too wondered if she had touched the heater and burned herself but both the last two times it was not on. The heater is only 1 month old and I had the blue gouramis in there before adding them to the main tank and they appeared fine as do all the other fish in the main tank. No flashing or disease. One of my filters recently broke (was running two) and I ordered a new (larger) one. Did 20-40% water changes daily until the new one arrived so it is possible that she picked up something. If it were gill parasites what would I treat with? Oh and would I need to treat all the fish because I don't want to add meds to the main tank. Thanks for your help.

My pearl gourami is going spastic. For past two days it appears to be having a fit .... thrashes around the tank frantically to the point where it threw itself out of the quarantine tank. After each episode (3 now) it appears dead, body curled around and lifeless looking, then it slowly recovers. It appears to take longer each time to recover and is not looking good this time. Floating on the top, inert and miserable looking. I don't know how old she is but the previous owner had the fish for four years .... but she does look old. Water parameters all normal, all other fish fine. Any ideas would be very appreciated.

I recently acquired (with my new tank) 3 clown loaches. Two large ones and one small. The two largest pick a little on the small one at meal times but apart from that they get on well. They just don't tolerate the 'wanna be' clown loach (tiger barb with an identity crisis) :lol:

Still eating? Sure its not a pebble stuck in there?

Had a read up after posting and I think so ..... I treated with stresscoat and she looks a little better. Also put her back in the main tank as she stopped eating and I wondered if she was fretting (has been four years with the other angel). Has really perked up since being back in the tank and ate this afternoon. Just have to hope for the best I guess. Thanks

My Angel has damage to its gill (the previous owner said it fought with other Angelfish). I've quarantined and been treating with Melafix for the past 9 days now. The damage looks a little better (thought it would heal quicker than this though). Its less swollen. I hope I am not being cruel by persisting with treatment - is she likely to be in pain? I don't want her to suffer. http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/Albu ... _=75412825 Add to this the fact that she now appears to be peeling. Difficult to photograph as it has to be in the right lighting to see it, but it looks like a layer of skin (like when your sunburn peels). What is this? http://www1.snapfish.com/slideshow/Albu ... _=75412825 Cheers

See post above Mincie Thanks Guys - I purchased PowerGlo 18000K so should be OK. I've not finished my 'light reading' yet but what I have read is great. :lol:

NICE Afrikan :lol:

Went ahead and bought the Atmans with the built-in UV. Its turns over 2400 lph so should keep my 400 ltr tank clean! I'll keep you posted on how it goes. It will be lots of water changes til it arrives as tank is already starting to look nasty. My LFS is having trouble finding parts for the Eheim 2228 as they were only on the market a short time and they don't make them now. I wonder if impellor and seals from any other Eheim would fit? I'll try to get it fixed - then I can sell it on along with my AquaOne 500 and get back a little of my money!

Loopy I saw that there were two kinds but couldn't figure out what the difference was between PowerGlo and Aquaglo? The place I looked at didn't have any Aquaglow in 36" anyway.

Wow Tsarmina - lucky escape! Yay for 'early-riser' kids hey? Good luck with your repair.

Sorry - Hope I'm not being a nuicance (seem to be posting lots lately). Just initial setting up gliches ! One of my bulbs have blown. I have two double Aqua One units. Bulbs measure 36". They currently have Power-Glo bulbs, T8, 30 watt I have a planted tank and want to get bulbs that will be good for my plants also. There seems to be lots of options and its all gobbledy gook to me. Suggestions please from you lovely knowledgeable people Many thanks

Does anyone have experience with Atmans? There are some selling on TM at present with built-in UV. Are they a good brand? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 357427.htm

Yep - just been looking at them and its definitely out coz it won't fit in the cabinet! I'll duck in to my LFS and ask for a new 'impellor' - won't feel like such a ninny now that I know what its called Thanks

Hi all Well the tank is not clearing and have discovered the Eheim 2228 is not working properly. So I'm currently down to AquaOnee 500 to filter 400 ltrs! I've cleaned it out and found that the little thingee that spins around (don't ask me what its called) is very clattery. My Aqua One is smooth and almost noiseless when it spins. Could this be the problem? If so what is it called and where can I buy one from? Failing that .... is there a filter I could buy that would be big enough to do 400 litres by itself. I've heard people talking about FX5 ... what are those? Thanks

Depends on how big your tank is ... but definitely gouramis. I have two honey goldens and I love them. They don't grow too big. I'd like a couple of the powder blues too! Also the corydoras coz they are funny! Real characters! Your hoping its a big tank huh David R?

Oh man ... got up this morning to two large holes in the substrate (kindly landscaped by the Deco Pleco). Dug right down to the aquamix and I can't even see the fish to feed them. Lucky he has a home to go to or I'd be really tempted to flush him right now!

Oh my goodness - this avo he came right to the front of the tank and just sat and looked at me. Blinked a few times as if to say 'thanks'. Felt very guilty for even having thought it!

Woohoo ..... Brian at the Goldfish Bowl will take him for me! Yay I'm so relieved. Big thanks to Afrikan and Gatito for your kind offers. Actually I just realised no-one actually answered my question about how much clove oil .... Ya big bunch of softies! :lol: