jn

I have goldfish in a half barrel outside that's been freezing over consistently for weeks now. The fish are still doing fine. Just hanging out near the bottom. So don't get a heater on account of them I believe they don't do well at consistently higher temps that some of the real tropicals would need. I've got some coldwater fish and am considering adding some suckers. My house gets real cold though and my tank's been down to 12. I'm currently looking at buying a Jager heater. The one I looked at said the temp could be set around 18 which is warm enough for some of the 'cool water' fish that Janelle mentioned. (If you're in well insulated house you might not need a heater.. buy a thermometer and keep an eye on on the coldest mornings) I could be wrong but I think bristlenose fish eventually get really big. Borneo suckers are smaller and won't outgrow your tank. I think I fancy some Odessa barbs myself !! But it I was going to have a purely goldfishy tank I think I'd have blackmoores and some type of sucker. (I have shubunkins in 2 ponds and comets in another). I probably wouldn't have more than 2 goldfish in a 70L. They get so big. With decent filtration and some hardy plants I'm sure you can have some type of 'suckers'. Any small fish are likely to get eaten once your goldfish are big enough! But maybe a few barbs too. See the thread: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/corydo ... 22940.html

I was jut re-reading this and realized something - I assumed you meant a new tank that currently doesn't have any fish in it where as I think others might be assuming a bigger already populated tank?

I can see how lugging buckets around to do enough water change on your tank could be a pain. I think you need a system that will do the work for you to make sure that it doesn't get neglected. I only have a wee tank but from other posts I've read I gather some people get a length of hose and run it out a window or to a sink and then use the hose to top up again. Maybe a good idea to start a topic to ask about the best tips for big water changes

I case anyone is still watching this, I've got drontal in the tank now. roughly 2mg/L. Fish don't seem to be minding at all although they weren't impressed at the extreme cloudiness at first. It seems to have settled a little though.

I did a quick search on google and I think excess nitrate seriously interferes with oxygen levels. It also mentioned that it makes the tank sucecptible to pH crashes cause it changes the buffering capacity of the water and one article recommends 25% water changes daily until tings are back to normal. (ie: you might want to check you pH too!!) Sounds like you need more plants to soak up the extra nitrates if you're hoping to keep your current stocking rate and maintenance regime! :oops: Have you got an algae problem too with nitrates that high?

Will you be leaving any fish in your old tank? If not wouldn't it be ok, assuming the media the 2 filters is the same or similar, to take the media from the old filter and put it in the new filter? If you transfer all the media then should there not be just enough bacteria for exactly that fish load? (I only have 1 tank so this is as much a question as an idea!) I'll be transferring some fish from an aqua one ar380 to a 620 and it's what I was planning on doing. moving the sponge and noodles from the old tank to the new tank and when I'm ready to put something else to my smaller tank I'll steal some back.

Yaaaaaaay fishroom :bounce: :bounce: I know I'd be lost without it

My cyanobacteria went crazy when I started dosing with flourish excel to try to treat what I thought was brush algae at the time. My nitrates were at 0 but my plants were also not respondong to the flourish cause they were too coated with algae! I'm not chemist but I wondered if it was thriving due to the extra carbon available. (it fixes carbon and nitrogen doesn't it?)

If the fish were not the usual recognizable selves (ie: different colours) they should have been quarrantined on import pending further analysis or destroyed then. Of course they had to destroy the fish, but they have a much harder (and more expensive) job on their hands as the fish have been spread across the country. I definitely agree that the holes in the system really need to be plugged.

Merci

Here's that ad I was referring to: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/pmdd-1 ... 22660.html

I bought some potassium nitrate from a garden shop after folks here recommended that to me. Sold as Stump Rotter. 550gm jar about $7 but someone in the private classifieds here was selling 'ingredients' for PMDD (home made complete tank fertilizer) so maybe you can get some off him. (I the classified also has the link to a good website to work out how to make a solution to suit your needs and how much to dose) It's also sold by www.hydroponics.co.nz. They only list 1kg but email them and ask for a smaller quantity and they'll get back to you quickly! In my case I added a couple of fish to my tank and also increased my water changes cause my tap water has about 10ppm Nitrate!!

Everytime someone goes against the rules (any rules for any situation) it undermines all those who have followed the proper channels and makes things harder for everyone else. Sure poeple might think, I'll have those cause they look nice... but think about everything else you miss out on when the get even stricter cause poelpe can't be trusted anymore!!

Thanks muchly for the clarification! So fish are ok with 750 mg/100L? (by day #3?) I've read that prazi is not one of those meds that really loses its effectiveness once its in a tank? Who's your doctor ref? Would love to have a look at the website (I'm very inquisitive by nature and love to read all the scientific details!!) Is that fishdoc.co.uk?

Feed them very lightly while your tank is cycling. They will produce less waste (and hence less ammonia). Once a day will do.

Info from MAF: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/media/19-07-07/gm-fish

Did they seriously use chlorine to euthanise them? Is that humane???

The ammonia would probably be highest shortly after feeding I think Could that account for the difference? I'd be surprised that a w/c would increase your ammonia?

I had a bad case of cyanobacteria in a small tank. I put the fish into some temporary holding bins scraped down all the glass and wiped is as clean as possible. Cleaned the pump housing and filter tubes and the impeller, removed the worst affected plants (and treated the others with potassium permanganate) I threw out the worst affected gravel (top layer was compltely solid with the stuff.. like a gravel pancake). I then took all the gravel out and basically scrubbed it (rubbed it together) in a bucket with a mild bleach solution. Rinsed and repeated and rinsed several times with freshwater. I left my filter untouched so destroying any bacteria in the gravel wasn't a big deal. I put it back in, refilled the tank and let it run overnight before putting the fish back in. It hasn't come back (yet). That was in April. How did you get rid of it last time? I read somewhere that cyanobacteria thrives in zero nitrate conditions. What's your nitrate level?

So what temp has your tank been sitting out now that you've got the heater in there? (100W right?) Mind you it has been warmer.. my tank is back at 14-15 instead of 12 degs.

Hey there. Can someone recap on the prazi treatment? It says treat for 3 days and repeat over a period of 3 weeks. Does that mean every 3 days for 3 weeks total? Would fluketabs be used in a similar fashion? I believe I have flukes in my tank as well. Is prazi better/gentler? (ie: if you had the choice what would you use?) I'd probably have to use prazi in the form of Drontal tabs.

I remember Caryl saying some of the barb's are ok in the cooler ranges I think ( I think Rosy barbs but not sure which others). They may be a nice complement to the white clouds with their coloring. I had to laugh when I saw this post. I think at about the same time I was searching for the same info (but decided to google it!). Corys are so neat!

you have an AR380 and you're not using filter wool? Mine gets very green in about 4 days! I'd I'm not that heavily stocked really. Try filter wool if you're not using any. I bought a bulk pack from the LFS for about $5. I bit cut to size lasts about 3 months just rinse it clean every 7-10 days. I reckon I have enough in the pack to last me a year at this rate!

Maybe you should isolate them until someone can work it out?

I sometimes pop goldfish into a plastic tub with no filter if I need to separate some out. I usually grab a handful of plant cuttings that I will throw out at the end and sometimes add handful of gravel in a saucer to anchor them down, sometimes I just let the plants float to make some cover for them. The gravel doesn't go back into my tank either but could do if it was sterilized it to be sure. The plants probably have some good bacteria on them plus they help use up the wastes as they do in a fully established tank. I use a bit of air hose to syphon the bottom clean. (I don't use my gravel vac, that's for my tank only) You just have to keep an eye on the water quality by testing until you're sure things have settled (every day in the early stages) and do changes if required. The tub usually cycles just fine as bacteria and stuff colonise on the surfaces and plants. I guess the big thing if you don't have a filter or any aeration is to be mindful of the surface area (so there's enough oxygen) and stock appropriately. Plastic tubs are cheap too! The only downside is it's hard to get a good view of the fish but I use a 1L glass container when I need a good look at them.. just scoop them out