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It would be best actually if you got a test kit (although I know some people say not to bother). That would give you an indication of how high the ammonia/nitrite levels are and how much to dilute them to. Although really, 3 guppies in a 60L you should be having alot of trouble cycling. What sort of filter have you got? Maybe just 1 bucket a day would do. I think alot of people do small top ups without adding de-chlorinator but others don't risk it and add enough for the amount of new water they're adding. Others let the water air overnight instead with an airstone to dissipate some of the chlorine. Maybe your guppies are just adjusting to their new environment though and will settle in a few days. When I fist got my fish in a new tank I had to peer through the doorway without going into the room if I wanted to watch them swim around! Otherwise s soon as they saw me they would hide!

How big is your tank just for the record? Maybe you should be doing small water changes every day till your fish get more comfortable?

If your breeding nursery is the type where tank water flow through it I would probably take her out of the tank before she dies in case, so she doesn't spread any bacteria or something when she does.

Sounds awesome Hamish! Definitely at that size you want barley straw! You'd go broke trying to do anything else I guess in time your plants will grow in and sort out your problem. In another thread I mentioned rushes. I had some in a 'residential sized' pond that was way overstocked, never got cleaned and where the tenant never ran the pump. There was never so much as a inkling of algae. I had since found some references about rushes being very good at stripping nutrients from the water..maybe you could incorporate some into your plantings around the edges! Ahh.. I'm so jealous I'm having visions of rushes and flaxes and ducks etc !! I'm not sure if you're 'farm inclined' but whenever I see barley straw advertised in Christchurch it's usually in the Stockfeed section of the weekend classifieds. Keep us posted

You absolutely can buy the black sponges...Here you go.. just choose your tank size... http://www.petplanet.co.nz/shopping/pgm ... id=96&=SID And here go the noodles you need http://www.petplanet.co.nz/shopping/pgm ... d=257&=SID They also sell replacement lights.. apparently the bulbs lose some of their effectiveness over time even though they still work. They recommend replacing them at 6-12 months. So if you think your light might be old, it might be good to order a replacement one if you're getting stuff shipped anyway

That would be right. The drench is Ad-Tape used on farm animals (and thanks to Purplecatfish for that info!!) and it would work out much cheaper than Droncit and be easier to dose (but a little trickier to work out the correct dose since its more concentrated!)

Is your tadpole pond the 80L one you were talking about on the other thread? what are they made of and what are the dimensions? The rushes I have are natives (came from the Water Garden store, and they have a reputation for sucking up all the nitrates and I think they're good at keeping the water clean) They get really tall and will eventually form huge clumps if you let them and ...lots of places for little frogs to hide I'd guess... but could be too big for your setup? I have lysmachia which you can grow in a pond or in a tank. Mine survived in my barrel pond which kept freezing this past winter. You can grow that submersed or at the surface where it will form a bit of a floating mat. waterplantz on trademe sell packages for cheap that have like 10 kinds of plants in them (suitable for ponds or coldwater tanks) and they all grow in really quickly!

Pet planet sells replacement stuff for AquaOne tanks at very good prices if you haven't got time to go shopping (www.petplanet.co.nz) only $5 shipping.

Don't panic newfish There are lots of threads here about hot tanks in the summer. It could be as simple as floating a bottle of frozen water in the tank if it does get real hot or even leaving the lights off during the day on hot days cause they add to the heat a little.. or leaving a cover open with some air flowing past.

Really? So have you got something else in there? Those ceramic noodle things are usually where all your yummy bacteria lives

could be it.. floating plants could be blocking a bit of light.. also I think brown algae may disapear over time. (Mine disappeared after about 6 months when the tank ggot a bit more 'mature') Be patient I'd say.. it might go away on its own. Is that an aqua one tank?

But you haven't had it long right? Maybe it's being cheeky and not showing you it's best flush of colour yet ? How bout this one? (Danio Roseus apparently?!) BUT.. read here.. it says that pearl danios are silvery when they're young. Maybe you've got a youngster? IT also compares the Roseus ones to the pearls and says you can tell by the number of rays in the anal fin and by the barbels. http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... cle_id=334

Is your tank newer than his? Sometimes brown algae goes away on its own after a tank gets a little more mature. What do you mean your friend changes his water with a cup? No gravel vacuuming? That could make a difference too.. maybe his is feeding from the poo collecting in the gravel Is his water flow stronger or weaker?

REally! Ok.. well I wont be selling them then. Thanks! I'll check on the net to see but I suspect that's probably them.

Your friend might have different lights on his tank? Brown algae likes tanks with less light. There are also lots of different variables that can affect plant (and algae) growth like the pH and the co2 levels, what gets fed and how often, stocking levels (of both plants and fish), temperature etc... even his substrate and his filter and water flow etc will be creating different conditions than you may have in your tank. Light would definitely be the biggest factor i'd say. Also does your friend use any fertilisers?

Can you elaborate? Tell us what about your fish does not look like the pearl danios? (We only have your picture to go on right now) From the picture it looks virtually identical. Like that picture off the web could actually be your very own picture! So tell us what you see on your fish that is different so we know to stop suggesting pearl danio plz. Does it have a stripe we can't see? Is it bigger than a pearl danio? Are its fins different... ? Or have you just seen 'other' pearl danios that didn't look like this one?

http://elmersaquarium.com/10danio_pearl.htm

I have some waterlilies that I was planning on putting on TM soon. They will have white flowers (unpotted pieces). I also have yellow irises and some rushes (the blue'ish type) as marginals and a dwarf type of Arum looking lily that is a marginal plant too which is just sending out some white flowers PM me if you're interested. Alternatively, most garden stores now sell pond plants (Oderings and Portstone do anyway) or you can try the Water Garden on Blenheim Rd. for a bigger selection. Redwood aquatics also has a selection available usually but not as much as the former the last time I checked.

Hi there. Dont' use the alge killers unless you're too desperate. Go find some PondBalance. It ties up some of the nutrients that the blanket weed thrive on so it basically slowly starves. It won't kill it but it will help stop it from thriving. Manually remove as much as you can, whenever you can though. Pond Balance I believe you treat 1 every 10 days for 3 treatments and then monthly afterwards if required. It's a powder that you dissolve in warm water..it'snot cheap but it treats quite a fair amount of water. I have used this successfully and its safe for fish and plants. We had a terrible outbreak and it took 2 full seasons to get it under control but I think it's gone now. Blanketweed apparently loves a higher pH. So maybe test your pH just to see. (If your pond concrete out of curiousity) Also high phosphates will do it, not necessarily nitrates.. so be very careful that you aren't overfeeding. Our pond expert (professional) recommends only every other day, once/day. He recommends Pond AlgaeFix if you really need to kill it BUT.. killing it means it will die and decompose.. making food for more algae (and stealing alot of oxygen from the water in the process)!! So unless you can kill it and vacuum, don't bother. Oh... hang on.. you say large pond? How large?? If its really big.. get some bales of barley straw. It MUST be barley straw.. no other type. And put a bale into a shallow end of the pond so it can stay near the surface. (Or put somein a sack of something) This will take a long time to start working but as it decomposes it releases soemthing that seems to inhibit algae growth. Tell us more about your pond

Tanks can get too hot in the summer.. depending on what type of fish you keep this may or may nto be a problem.. I think with most tropical fish it doesn't matter too much. Coldwater fish can get a bit stressed maybe(??) the main problem with the water being too hot is that the oxygen levels drop. So if you tank is really hot and your fish are gasping its probably due to lack of oxygen and cooling it or adding an airstone will help.

eXaCTly

http://dev.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... cle_id=147

I can't be that hard for a bigger shop selling fish to have at least one person on staff who knows what they're talking about for each type of 'critter' being sold. Be it the manager or just some staff.. who knows... but yes..people shold be told "I could answer you but I woudln't be sure" or have someone call during the week to speak to someone who knows.. or again.. have a nice little booklet of FAQs that the staff can refer to or a handout for customers to take home... I just don't understand how they can fail to provide such a basic service.

I though I read somewhere a while back that there something that needs doing to bamboo to cure it before using it in tanks.. maybe something on the net. I have seen bamboo used for breeding caves so it CAN be done... you just have to work it out (cuz it looked great!)

I used one too... but be careful if you have leaves or stones.. they can get clogged.. also mine came with a bit of clear discharge hose but it was useless.. it was the 'flat type' and kept getting stuff stuck in it. I needed a longer bit anyway so bought soem decent rounded stuff. I looking at stuffing something into the 'mouth' of it to act as a coasre filter so that pebbled and leaves don't get sucked up and stuck. Maybe a bit of plastic gutter guard type stuff.