Adrienne

Yes I am sure that that is what it is. Its grown taller with the T5HO lights at the back of the tank (the plant is only at the front of the tank) but still sits only about 2 -3cm tall. Its taken a good year to get to this height. Phoenix - is it possible for you to label the plants we see in your pictures. Just being nosey really.

yes - that is one 50% water change - the tank is 450 litres My ammonia readings were 0 when I came home from work tonight although the discus were still up. I am pretty worried that given this has now happened 3 times in the last 6 weeks that permanent damage is/has been done.

Can't - it would need to hold 225 litres of water lol.

All discus up again this afternoon. When I water changed I gravel vaccuumed but not much as most of the tank is planted. I stirred up very little. My water conditioner is the nutrafin aqua plus which expires in February 2012. I have added prime at the 5x rate which it says you can do in an emergency - I did this last night. The council has done nothing to change the water and is not aware of anyone else with problems. My tap water ammonia is fine - I tested it this morning just in case. The only thing different is that about the time of the initial water changes which had the first problem of the spikes happen is that I started to use flourish comprehensive in the aquarium. Dosing 5 mls once to twice a week. Its really weird - the last two spikes have happened immediately after a water change. I am currently thinking about moving out all my fish and emptying the tank and starting again but first of all have to find either tanks or people willing to look after them for about a month. Unfortunately I have no spare filters available. I have opened up the fx5 today and it is not even really gunked up. Will refill it with tank water and start it up again.

HELP! Yesterday afternoon around 4.30pm I did a 20% waterchange on my tank - couldn't do more as there were discus wrigglers in the tank. This took until about 6.00pm. Added prime & water conditioner. By 9.00pm last night the discus were up the top of the tank, along with some rummynose and the snails were heading for the top as well. Couldn't do a lot at that time of the evening so added more prime as it says 5x the dose can be used. This morning they were still near the top, hundreds of snails were up, one rummynose dead. Currently doing another 20% change. Tested water - even with the prime added the ammonia showed .25. Suggestions appreciated. Absolutely no idea as to what is going on.

Theres a beautiful red plant at the back of one of the planted tanks at HFF Mt Roskill but I haven't been able to find out what it is. I've been losing the red in my plants as I've had to cut my lighting time down a lot to try and hold the hair algae in check.

toothpick? maybe just the attempt at catching her will make her spit it out.

Nice looking fish firenzenz.

Only trouble with wood is that I am worried the discus will have no where to feed. There are two pair in here but one pair is still refusing to eat after the other probs I had that wiped out two of them. Can't work it out - two dead, two still not eating and two breeding - Go figure! Will have to search for some nice pieces of driftwood from out of my other tanks. Thanks

take her out and hook out the pea - carefully :roll:

You tank is looking fantastic. I love it! Heres mine - this is the one I have been having so much trouble with of late. You can see the hair algae everywhere. Cutting down on the T5HO lighting helps keep it under control but at the detriment of the red plants which are on the left at the back of the tank. Needs some pruning but the pair of discus on the left of the tank have 20 or so nearly free swimming fry on the glass and if I put my hand near the tank they bite it. Some suggestions please Phoenix

Bik Boks photo is definitely of a fighter with dropsy. Its a really really good photo of what dropsy looks like in a fighter. Try peas and see if it helps yours but if its scales are sticking out as in Bik Boks photo unfortunately the result with ultimately be death. Dropsy can be caused by a number of things but the final result is organ failure and a build up of fluid with in the fish causing pressure and forcing the scales outwards into the pine cone shape. While various treatments may help the condition in the end the result with be the same.

Common or not, its a very very nice looking plant

imo its spawning behaviour

Spoken like a true parent Joe, you can email them to me and I will post them if you like

No - I siphoned them out, then let the parents eat the next spawn, siphoned out the 3rd spawn which are still growing out and have let the parents eat the next two spawns. At least adding the young back to the tank has stopped them spawning in the meantime but now I can't tell which adult has paired up with who either. No I didn't register the spawns. I never do as I don't know anyone to ask to come look.

How are your apistos going Rob?

I've got an fx5 but in all honesty I would go for a sump again if I could.

I am very proud of my first survivors from my bolivian rams - they were free swimming 9th March. Heres some pics of the parents (I have 3 pairs) and their first batches of which there are about 40+ survivors. I have another couple of hundred still growing on from a later spawning.

Yes it might, it would probably help if we could source them for him before he goes down so that they are available when he is there and not too costly.

Joe lives in Blenheim and I don't believe they have a fish shop as such!

What about taking the pic down to one of the local plant nurseries and asking staff there and perhaps looking through the books for sale if no one knows and no one on here can help you for sure I've certainly seen the plant before but as to what its called :roll:

I have seen the R. wallichii and mine is different to that. Its 'leaves' are not as fine and wispy as the wallichii. How would I go about 'flowering' it?

Can someone give me the correct name for the red pine and its genus? Joe would like to know

He's great and yes I do - the female is the sister of your females. Its nice to know that when you work together good comes out of it