Adrienne

I give it a decent vacuum gravel each week when I do my water changes, its about knowing how deep you can go into the gravel without upsetting the substrate under it. The only damage you can do is suck a bit up and maybe the water will go a little murky where you have touched it but not for long and you soon get to know. I just use a smaller sized vacuum gravel or even sometimes just airhose to get around plants. But fish poo is good for plants anyways.

I'd move the fighter too - once he spies them he'll be after them for sure. Fighters just love anything tiny that moves.

:lol:

Congratulations - I really think I would like to have some cichlids but I really don't know a lot about them and get seriously confused. Would probably end up with duds in the wrong sized tank or something like that.

Sorry I just checked in the white pages and it shows how long I've been out of ChCh - there is no Palmers, try phoning Oderings Nurseries (I think its still on Barrington St in Spreydon. Or go through your yellow pages and phone (saves time and petrol)

Heres a link to the tank I'm talking about - the stingray filter in on the left hand corner at the bank. Could have been hidden behind plants if i had wanted to. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q96/ ... emales.jpg

I have had for the last 3 months an elite stingray 15 in a planted tank of the size you are talking about. Have had about 15 fish and a couple of bristlenose in it and its been great. Same sort of substrate as you as well. No algae on plants or glass, a gentle steady flow of water.

Male gouramis do blow blubble nests like fighters for spawning in. Usually the only time a male and a single female fighter is together is when you are wanting to breed so its probably the male blowing the nest. If you are intending to breed you need to get the gouramies out and wait and see if anything happens. If you don't they will eat the eggs. If you're not prepared for possibly hundreds of youngsters and lots of work and tanks don't let them spawn. Get at least one more female so the male doesn't stress the single female out.

Yes, is it the tank with your male fighter in it and do you have female/s as well in there.

Try Palmers and Kings Plant Barn if you have them down there. I know you have Palmers, but not sure about the other.

there has been a fault in the last batch of cf1200s that came in. If you can't find the receipt and the shop doesn't come to the party - if you got it very recently they should remember you - I'll send my spare to you. Just put it on the intake, thats all I had to do hence the spare.

Fighters are very hardy, but they don't like dirty water. Do a complete change and if no filter is going to be used a small change each day but any left over food etc must be removed daily.

Is it a cf 1200 filter - my cf had a small split in the tap when I purchased it. A lot of these have come out with the problem. Contacted pet planet and they sent me replacement taps. If it is and yours is new its worth asking the shop to give you a replacement. If its the tap and its not new and its a cf1200 I have a spare tap I can put in the post to you if you pm your details to me.

Could be the taps, leave the motor running and turn the taps off for a couple of seconds and see if there is an leak. Where water comes out the air can get in no matter how small the hole.

Wilson, thats what someone told me the other day that helps Siamese Fighters as well - drop the tank temp and raise it.

Yes, thats it - Tinforil barbs, thats also what I thought they were but couldn't remember their name.

Janelle, you're not weird, we all spend forever looking at our tanks. Since I was made to move the majority of my tanks to the back shed my husband is forever complaining I'm not in the house. Fish are for looking at, its good karma.

Wow, great photos evil! If I had seen one of those the first time my fish had dropsy I would have known what it was straight away. Aquarium dude - as evil says your fish does need to be euthanaised - there are various opinion around on how to try to cure it but once its vital organs are shutting down, which is what causes the swelling because fluid is retained, I don't think theres anything here in NZ that would even remotely help it.

Hey dude, never had a marine aquarium ever but if I was you and was wanting good live rock I'd ask in the buy and sell section on this forum first.

Some sort of barb? Think I've seen them but not sure what they are called. Is the silver pretty much tanslucent?

I can't see the pics either.

Congratulations! You might find the female is not eating the eggs but also taking them up and spitting them out. Good luck with getting some fry.

This is a long shot, but are you sure theres no air getting in through the filter at all so the haze is minute bubbles. I have a uv filter but I can't imagine it would work on this.

hey blueandkim - can we have some pics of the fishroom?

Could your whiptail possibly have gotten stuck somewhere or hit the filter intake perhaps when chasing something. The killies I've seen (not many) look very tiny and peaceful fish. Maybe it died of something else and then the other fish have had a nibble?