Adrienne

Just checking that you do realise that with restarting your tank you will have algae outbreaks. What do you mean that other readings seem okay? My tank currently has brown algae, green spot algae and some small tufts of bba which is completely natural.

Dwarf chain loaches wil eat the smaller snails, bristlenose eat some algae.

What a nuisance about your lights. Your tank readings indicate your tank has not yet cycled. How heavily stocked is it?

Subway lunch for me today - a treat as I am working!

green blue like a sheet of cellophane?

yummy Sophia - I have never ever made a pac

Merry Christmas everyone. Stay safe!!

Gold rams are beautiful - healthy looking, a good size and completely gold. I have not seen any hongsloi up here.

Merry Christmas to everyone. :cr3: To the executive, delegates and all those Fnzas members I have met or spoken to during the year thanks for your assistance and companionship. May you enjoy the time you have to spend with family and make sure you take the chance to do at least one thing for yourself.

yes, family togetherness - there are currently 7-8 of us in the house. I am the only one still working - only have christmas and new years days off. Great to have everyone here though. Its only for a few days as they all head off on holiday from the 26th onwards.

I am making chic chip sherry desert. Dunk choc chip biscuits in sherry, and stack with a layer of cream in between. Stack as high as you like, dont be stingey on the sherry and finish with a layer of cream. Sprinkle choc chips on the top.

Just had a quick look at the spread sheet as about to go to work. From the info that has been given so far I dont feel any conclusions could be drawn. You would expect most of the fish sold in Auckland to have been purchased from the bigger LFS. There is a distinct lack of data on ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels and given the huge number of people here with fish only a very small number at this stage appear to have been affected. Perhaps this is the norm but in this day and age with improved communications it is easier to find out from other fishkeepers how they are managing. I would recommend waiting a couple of weeks to see if any one else contributes as at the moment it all looks very random to me. However it is a worthwhile exercise for those who are really concerned and if you want to proceed with vets and testing then go for it!

Also date (approx) purchased and date (approx) died might be good to have as well.

yes I agree - a very good idea.

which at the same time, water temp or nets? Nets not necessarily - a bit like whitespot, the cysts are always present but not all fish will get it at the same time. Its when immunity is low that it presents, so some fish would have more resistance to a bacteria carried by a net.

I was putting another thing out there to be thought about. What I was getting at was that if your heater was set on 25 but running 27 and you just turned the tap on to hot without checking the temp it is possible that the tank water became too hot for your fish to handle. Likewise if your tank is running cool and you put too much cold in. Humans, at certain times of the year are more prone to illness caused by stress etc and I would be surprised if fish are not. As to a link between you all I would say its 50/50 as to a link or coincidence but unless you can get a fish or preferably two from different sources tested you wont know. The other thing to consider is nets or other equipment shared between tanks (not in Bretts case though as it obviously is just the one tank), if there is an bacteria present it could remain on the nets for some time before being transferred to other fish.

I will throw this out there and see what you think. Have you checked that your tank heater is maintaining the tank at the temp you believe it is? Do you do hot or cold water changes?

Perhaps you should read the entire thread before posting! This way you would know.

It sits on the bracing of the tank or hangs suspended from the ceiling. You would have to modify it to fit it inside the hood as I don't believe you have bracing for it to sit on. I think that in general it is as cheap to replace the whole tank as it is to mess around with lights and lids.

I am in central Auckland and in the last six months have purchased well over 100 fish - none of whom have died from the symptoms mentioned, however several died by being sucked in through an incorrectly attached filter strainer. Perhaps if a group of you get together and when the next fish dies, refrigerate it immediately, take it to a vet and ask them to send it to Gribbles Pathology Lab for virology and bacteriology reports. It will cost vet fees and laboratory charges but if you are really concerned it will be a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Correct. The movement across the surface of tanks with sumps is far greater than with the cannister filters as the drops into the tower or overflow. Cannisters pull water from the bottom of the tank. However depending on the fish you get you may have to run an airline at night as CO2 also reduces the amount of oxygen in the water. This is why most people have timers so that the CO2 comes on about an hour before lights in the morning and turns off about an hour before the lights do in the evening. This gives the plants the maximum use of CO2 during and allows them to use most of the CO2 before lights out. I used to run an airline on a timer so that it came on when the lights were off.

I use the Glo T5HO units and they are great, The Hagen are good if you need or want to put lighting in a hood type situation.

The amount of surface water movement created by a sump is greater than that by a cannister or internal filter. Surface movement allows gas exchange meaning that there will be more CO2 escaping when a sump is used. In saying this I have seen some very lovely planted tanks filtered by a sump that also run CO2 and the plants are healthy and have good growth. You could try using an inline CO2 diffuser in conjunction with a canister.

T5 dont have starters though.

ah yes however that is a job for a qualified electrician!