jn

Hi all (and Janelle!) I though I would post an update on Edward Elric. He got moved to the pond at the rental a few weeks ago. The tenants were away and didn't know we were adding a fish but quickly noticed when they returned..that one of the fish seemed a bit shy about coming up to eat! (NONE of the fish in there were anything near shy!!). They worked out that it was a new addition and quickly integrated with the others. They know the fish so well that they know excactly which one he is! Here go a couple of pictures we took a week after putting him in. and this pic is a bit blurry but that's him on the back left hanging around with all his new mates ( he fits right in.. he's very similar looking and similar sized to most of the others) and for sport a couple leopardfish/wcmm pics And this has got one of my flag fish refusing to co-operate while he eats a shrimp pellet and the others hover around waiting for the scraps

:oops: :oops: :oops: That'll explain why he looks like a male then :-? (sawry!)

spawning behaviour often happens in the AM more than in the PM. It'll go on off and on for a good part of the summer Usually for several hours at a time I think.

I agree Alan, I though that second photo looked like a male.

So ? How much sleep did you get and how did your fish do outside?

What are your nitrates at? and if you don't have a phosphate test kit maybe the LFS can test that for you? I had it pretty bad in a small tank. Nitrates were virtually nil and I was probably generous with feeding. I put my fish into a holding bin. Emptied the tank, cleaned glass,scooped out the gravel (throwing away the top layer that was badly covered with it, sterilised it (bleach and very hot water, scrubbing to remove anything still attached) rinsed very well, sterilised plants in potassium permanganate, left the filter as it was. Worked as quickly as I could so the filter didn't suffer too much. Then put it all back together, let it settle overnight before putting the fish back. I added a few fish after that and decreased my feeding. I also bought some nitrate fertiliser to use in case my nitrates ever dropped very low again but haven't had to use it. Its never come back. This probably isnt practical if you have alot of fish or a big tank though I had a 40L tank and about 9 small fish !!

Use the search at the top of the page... (Ignore the comment that says the search function is disbaled.. the google one works fine)

probably not whitespot then

Do they require still pools of water? I have a water race going through my place (used by stock mainly) it rises and falls depending on the season as is diverted from a rived by the concil somewhere well upstream.... I though it might be neat to introduce some frogs

how long ago did you buy it? if its a recent arrival I'd take it back out of the pond until yuo're sure! You dont want all your healthy fish infected with whitespot!

Gannet I don't know anything about frogs apart from the fact that they're on the decline Can you tell me why goldfish and frogs don't mix? :-? :oops:

with 100w in 40L the tank will heat up pretty quickly.... probably this time of year the water is reasonably warm to begin with.. if yo have any fish in there already.. put it on its lowest setting and crank it up slowly by 1 deg./day.. if you don't have a thermometer you should probably buy one...if you search the forum you'll see plenty of stories of heaters going nuts.... heating all the time or not working any more.. so beleive yuor thermometer (plus or minus a couple of degrees...there not mor accurate than the heaters sometimes!! :lol: )

Can you put some sort of net or screen up somewhere (I dunno.. infront or behind the fan? Maybe the fan is sucking dust/etc from the air and throwing it right at where its pointed..ie: the tank You know how those fans seem to end up accumulating dust no matter what you do...usually at the back.. (fan heaters,hairdryers do the same) Sounds like a good idea to do a test though A plain tank with no fish and just the fan..

I have 2 aqua one tanks (380,620) I too figured that with the frame underneath (and what looks like a layer of padding between the frame and the glass) that poylstyrene wasn't necessary.. but to be safe and to protect my wooden furniture since the tanks aren't on 'tank stands' specifically. I used some cardboard. If you think about it.. the aqua one tank stands wouldn't be designed to have a layer of stuff betwen the tank and the stand I reckon...

Danz, the temp depends on what fish you want.. some like it hotter than others. Look up the breed you want in a book or on the net and work out a group of fish that prefer similar temps (although tye're all pretty adaptable I think)

Awesome pictures! How did you get them to pose so nicely? Or how long did you stand there with your camera

Re: testing the water.. what do you do when your water is discoloured? I have good phosphate test kit.. which uses a control and a test sample to account for discoloured water.. but most of the basic kits don't show accurate results I think when the water isn't clear. (I think the phosphate one is JBL but my freshwater kit is your basic AquariumPharmaceuticals brand) Do the shops use tests that are reliable?

The colour won't be affecting the health of your fish...it'll be something else. I understand you want the colour clear but you should first really try to work out what's wrong with your fish. How many fish did you add when you started up your tank? Has it been running very long? Is this your first tank?

I'd say keep the water changes up in his 20L bin (50%+ every day). without being cycled the ammonia etc. will be building up very fast. Is he eating? Have you tried feeding him nothing but peas for now? Maybe he got a bit constipated?

Ok.. I don't think I need an answer.. She looked like she was having balance trouble when I decided to net her out. She's now laying on her side in the container I've got her in...so I dare say she's had it. I'll probably put her out of her misery shortly. Just for reference.. she had no gravid spot.. and her scales were protruding all over (right up to the back of her head and the sides of her face.. so not just around her belly. Some of my others are getting round in the belly but she was swollen up through her 'shoulders' if fish had shoulders that is!! I think I stirred up some bacteria a little while back. The fish in this tank had been flashing off an on for a while (they haven't flashed at all lately so I think I'm in the clear) but perhaps this one had been weakend by some parasite and then when I disturbed the gravel she got sick. My water quality is fine and I do regular changes, everyone else is happy as larry, spawning and chasing and eating fine so hopefully this is a one off! If anyone wants to tell me what a healthy fish getting ready to drop some fry though I'd much appreciate it

Hi all, I think I know the answer already but I just wanted to double check... one of my leopard fish got very fat very quickly. She is also listless and pale. I think she's a goner, I actually think she has dropsy cause her scales are sticking out a bit and I've just taken her out of the tank. But I just want to make sure I'm not confusing this with her maybe being ready to drop? I've never seen them dropping any fry. She's also breathing too quickly which is why I think she's unwell as opposed to pregnant. Can someone confirm that this is not typical for just plain old healthy breeding?

We have a log burner and we spend alot of time being cold too though But hey.. we're saving money right? Brrrrrrrrrr!!! Firewood costs us about $300/year though.. so I guess in all fairness if you divide that by 12 months and add it to the bill that would be about $100 on average for a 3 bed home. But we turn stuff off at the switches and run heated towel rails on a timer and don't leave stuff running unless we need to, little thigns like that that add up nicely

I've read that people switch to heatpumps expect low power bills but what actually happens is that they just improve the comfort level in the house and don't end up spending any less (and often end up spending more) but then... houses really should be kept at reasonable temps (ie: your breath shouldn't be condensing indoors!!) so it's all a good thing That was part of my reason for wanting to stay with coldwater fish But I've given in and run my tank at 18-19 so I can get a couple of 'sucker fish'.. which is funny because in a well built/well insulated hosue I shouldn't need a haeter to get that temp! I won't however give in to more tanks than I have now which is 1 (plus a smaller breeding tank which I don't even intend to run all the time at this point) for the very reason that it will ramp up my power bill.. which I quite like at $70-80 (and this includes running a pump from our well for our water supply!)

Youre not havign alot of luck with your fighters fluffypants! Didn't you buy a blue one that did the same thing?!

Nitrite is very toxic...and is definitely a sign that your tank is still cycling (not established enough to be able to convert everything into harmless by-products yet). If your nitrite is high your fish can get sick. Keep an eye on it and change some water if you need to. Nitrates are probably high at the end of a cycle as all the backlog of ammonia and nitrite is finally being fully converted to a more harmless form. Very high nitrates can also be bad for the fish. Nitrates are always going to be present as they are the end result of your fish waste being processed by your filters. If you have a lot of plants, the nitrates get used up by the plants. With fewer or no plants, the nitrates just keep building up, which is why you need to do regular water changes. Your nitrates will also depend on how many fish you have.. more fish = more nitrates of course ... so it pays to get a feel for what your nitrates are at and how quickly they build up to help make sure you know in advance, that your water quality could be getting bad. The best way to avoid that though is to water change every week, or every other week Feed very sparingly and don't overstock your tank!